Since the United States accused Vietnam of being a hub for counterfeit goods, Tran Le Chi has found it increasingly hard to track down her favourite fake Chanel T-shirts, Gucci sunglasses and Louis Vuitton handbags.

As Vietnam's government tries to head off President Donald Trump's threatened 46 percent tariff, it has launched a crackdown on fake products -- in part to show responsiveness to US concerns.

Now there are streets filled with shuttered shops in Hanoi and rows of closed stalls at Saigon Square shopping mall, a major clothing market in Ho Chi Minh City -- the kind of places Chi used to go to buy her latest gear.

"The clothes help me look trendy," Chi told AFP. "Why would I care if they are fake or not?"

Chi -- a betting agent for an illegal game known as lo-de, where punters predict the last two lotto numbers of the standard daily draw -- said she had never paid more than $40 per "designer" item.

"Only the super-rich people can afford the real ones," she added. "They're not for people like........

© International Business Times