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WIRED
@wired.com

WIRED spoke to over a dozen US business owners, including mom-and-pop shops, who all said the same thing: Chinese manufacturing is still the gold standard of the world and moving production to a new region would be extremely difficult, regardless of how high tariffs are.

wired.comWhy It’s Impossible for Most Small Businesses to Manufacture in the USAmerican companies that make everything from keychains to mattresses say Chinese manufacturing is superior, and tariffs won’t be enough to shift production to the United States.

333 reposts1.2K likes

ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ Ave ʕ∙ჲ∙ʔ
@little-thieves.com

The funny thing, is that while trying to give the finger to China due to their manufacturing dominance, the US is rapidly destroying it’s own massive economic prowess that is research and innovation. Which is wild because they all freaked out when China made a better AI than them

King of Cake Believe
@504spyboy.bsky.social

It's true. A vast swath of Americans have no idea how Chinese have transformed manufacturing into a 21st century marvel. Old coke and steel plants as the definition of industrial power - as Trump understands manufacturing - is two centuries behind China.

Bjorn_Igar
@bjorn-igar.bsky.social

Many electronic sub components and sub assemblies require manufacturing processes that risk worker safety and environmental protections. Manufacturers (the big logos) look for plant locations where worker safety and environmental risks can be bought off through corrupt officials.

Tim in the Mountains
@nerdotim.bsky.social

Just have containers dropped off in Mexico or Canada and eat the 10 to 25% tariff. I'm not even sure what the tariff is any longer for those 2 countries. Felon Don keeps changing tariffs and if items are exempt. A damn shitshow!

Sarahtonin
@sarahca.bsky.social

I know one who is looking to form new relationships with factories in Vietnam. But it won’t and can’t be anything like what they established over many years developing with their contacts in China. It’s like hiring a whole new staff but no slow down in deadlines and expectations.

WIRED
@wired.com

Experts say it’s incorrect to assume that lower prices mean lower quality, and the reason manufacturing in China is cheaper than other regions doesn’t always have to do with how much workers are paid. In fact, lower wages have become a less important aspect of their manufacturing strength, they add.

wired.comWhy It’s Impossible for Most Small Businesses to Manufacture in the USAmerican companies that make everything from keychains to mattresses say Chinese manufacturing is superior, and tariffs won’t be enough to shift production to the United States.
WIRED
@wired.com

“Moving those kinds of supply chains to the US would essentially mean that US factories have to win out across every single node, not just the final product. And I think that's a real challenge,” says Hugh Grant-Chapman, an associate fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

wired.comWhy It’s Impossible for Most Small Businesses to Manufacture in the USAmerican companies that make everything from keychains to mattresses say Chinese manufacturing is superior, and tariffs won’t be enough to shift production to the United States.
P.L. Rock
@plrock.bsky.social

Unsaid. We don't have the infrastructure yet to replace China. It was being built. But it's not done yet. And won't be done for 15 years, let alone training people up in the trades. Trump just quadrupled the price of the buildout, at least.

Thomas J. Wheat
@thomaswheat1975.bsky.social

We can reshore the jobs that were lost. It just requires a multiyear investment geared towards retraining the workforce. The problem is Trump plans for most of the manufacturing jobs to be filled by robots. He also plans to use tariffs & exemptions to reward rich friends in a crony capitalism scheme

Sarahtonin
@sarahca.bsky.social

To be fair, we don’t have enough people willing to work factory jobs. This is why Elon is freaking out about low birth rates among white people and why they are trying to plunge us into poverty.

Thomas J. Wheat
@thomaswheat1975.bsky.social

I read an article about a survey of american feelings about wanting more factory jobs versus actually working in a factory job and the numbers were startling. While most americans surveyed said they wanted factory jobs reshored to the US only 25% said they would be happy working in a factory

Luigi in a Coal Mine
@weareluigi.bsky.social

Having spent time employed at a US manufacturer, we would have done it all overseas if it wasn’t for patent infringement and IP fears. We also paid less than McDonald’s for entry level workers. Manufacturing isn’t what it was in the 50’s, let China keep it!