Is it legal to import brand names from China? Well, one thing is for sure. Chinese manufacturers are shrewd and very good at replication and mass production of just about anything.
Most consumers buy these kinds of goods because of their relatively cheaper price. Fake items are also highly accessible, very readily available and look much like the original ones. But oftentimes, these goods are substandard and of poor quality although they share the same brand name as the original. All of these give the impression that "Made in China" means inferior quality, imitation and fake.
So, back to the question. Can you import branded items from China? Is it legal to import brand names from China? Here are the two reasons:
1. There is no domestic or international importation law that allows importing and exporting of brand name products manufactured in China in wholesale price.
For example, Lacoste products. Lacoste contracts factories whenever it has new products to design and manufacture. This is done because the production cost will be much cheaper. And once the items are completely built, they are shipped directly to Lacoste in the US.
Bear in mind that the factories that manufacture these goods cannot and have no right at all to distribute these products in China. It is a must that every single manufactured Lacoste item should be exported back to the US.
Thus, distributing these items in China is illegal and buying these goods is equally against the law, unless the suppliers in China procured them from Lacoste US with the US dictated price, not wholesale or factory price.
2. All legitimate Chinese suppliers that import branded items made in China (e.g. Lacoste) are not allowed to sell them at a lower and cheaper price.
Fact is that, these suppliers are expected to sell the branded products manufactured in China at $50 to $70 more than any average supplier in Lacoste USA.
With all these facts, the answer to the question is this: You cannot directly import brand names or branded products manufactured in China. To avoid legal prosecution, you have to fully observe the law that protects the brand names, companies, manufacturers, suppliers and buyers. If you ever want to get and distribute branded products, you have to purchase them in the country where they are imported back into.