‘Cheap manufacturing be damned’: Sentiment
builds for moving U.S. companies out of China
Washington Examiner,
by
Joel Gehrke
Original Article
Posted By: Imright,
3/25/2020 5:05:55 AM
American companies that produce essential goods in China should plan to shift their operations back to the United States or other Western countries, according to a senior Republican lawmaker.“We're staring into a significant, significant crisis of supply chain,” Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner told the Washington Examiner. “Cheap labor or cheap manufacturing be damned if you are reliant on them for your life and livelihood.”Gardner’s warning was spurred by the shortage of hospital masks in the United States, a dearth driven by Beijing’s refusal to allow American companies that make the products in China to ship them out of the country
Reply 1 - Posted by:
FunOne 3/25/2020 5:21:33 AM (No. 357062)
President Trump made up energy independent. Now, he will lead us to become health independent.
We cannot afford to depend on countries with political agendas that are adverse to our own freedom to be able to hold us in economic peril.
36 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
judy 3/25/2020 5:32:22 AM (No. 357067)
I can handle the cheap products, it's China's food & drug manufacturing that really concerns me.
24 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
ARKfamily 3/25/2020 6:17:29 AM (No. 357092)
We have so many Americans stalled by this policy. Was it Bill Clinton that signed the law that if U.S. companies wanted to go abroad, they would get tax relief?
How many Americans are not using their gifts and talents because of these policies. I agree wholeheartedly with bringing companies back to America. Cheap or not. The talent, industriousness, and resilience we have in this country will Make America Great Again and Keep America Great.
34 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
MattMusson 3/25/2020 6:34:38 AM (No. 357102)
What they have not told you - Labor rates in Mexico are now cheaper than rates in coastal China.
Chinese labor rates have risen 4 fold over the last 5 years.
16 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
NancyD 3/25/2020 7:11:58 AM (No. 357118)
I don't trust the products that come out of China. They have the ability to harm us by using our products against us and I wouldn't put it past them.
I'd rather pay more and have it made in the USA any day.
32 people like this.
Bout time. No food processing, no complex electronics as in phones, pads, computers, etc. Cheap stuff for discount stores type of items.
10 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Cousair 3/25/2020 7:55:12 AM (No. 357177)
With thousands of unused shipping containers from China, lets convert them to hospital recovery centers or quarantine areas.
The RV industry could convert them into living quarters in a matter of days or weeks.
3 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Ming 3/25/2020 7:59:18 AM (No. 357189)
I would think this is the main object lesson created by this whole pandemic fiasco for businesses. Get the hell out of China.
20 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Clinger 3/25/2020 8:20:36 AM (No. 357214)
Cheap manufacturing was a bit of a facade to begin with and it sure as hell isn't cheap now that the true costs of doing business in China have been revealed. Don't forget, this isn't the first Chinese plague that has depleted our resources.
It wasn't cheap when we were paying Americans to be unemployed because they couldn't match the costs of 12 year old slaves on dirt floors, the costs just transferred from direct inputs to indirect to socialized burdens. It wasn't cheap when we doubled down on environmental concerns while decreasing production in relatively low polluting USA to high polluting China.
Middle Eastern oil wasn't cheap when we factor in the costs of going to war to keep the flow sustained. Not to mention foreign aid.
Purchase decisions are based on what people think they pay not what they actually pay. When costs shift from a direct relationship between buyer and seller costs are understood and free market forces matter and contain costs. When costs are shifted from that direct relationship and Uncle Sam inserts himself in the middle you can be lulled into stupidity.
14 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Krause 3/25/2020 8:30:39 AM (No. 357226)
Mexico.
1 person likes this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Venturer 3/25/2020 8:36:00 AM (No. 357236)
Too bad they cannot bring back the technology they have generously donated to the Chinese by their going there.
4 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
MDConservative 3/25/2020 8:39:07 AM (No. 357242)
Yeah, Senator, and what are you going to do about it? Nationalize businesses? Throw taxpayer money at them to subsidize return their manufacturing and supply chain to America (or Mexico and Canada)? Put heavy tariffs on their imported goods? If Walmart can import Korean-made TVs for $50 and sell them for $500...or, those Apple iPhones from China...
0 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
bpl40 3/25/2020 8:40:24 AM (No. 357244)
Every job brought back to the US will be subject to a "Nancy Pelosi" surcharge making the product unaffordable. That is why the work went to China in the first place. There are other options like Mexico, South East Asia, South Asia etc. This transformation should be done in a hurry not in haste.
3 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
JunkYardDog 3/25/2020 8:47:00 AM (No. 357258)
Covid-19's silver lining may be to finally awaken us from our lethargy allowing DC politicians to sell us out to the highest bidder. Want to foster honest competition to truly protect the consumers? Then insist that any foreign country we do business with cannot be socialist-PERIOD. And also insist that these countries are not running embarrassingly high trade surpluses with the US. NAFTA screwed us badly, allowing China to overtake us in medicine and tech hurts us badly....why do those in DC who are supposed to look out for us SCREW US SO BADLY? It's a rhetorical question of course-they do it because they get rich by doing so. And that's another thing, people like Pelosi and Maxine Waters thoroughly abuse the power of their office and steer legislation for special interests that enrich them. Isn't that illegal? Shouldn't it be?
11 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
h24015 3/25/2020 9:05:30 AM (No. 357279)
Hey world, all of those cheap products you've bought for the past 25 years - didn't turn out to be as cheap after all, did they?
5 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
MickTurn 3/25/2020 9:21:52 AM (No. 357296)
A reality check is required!
Who pushed almost all of our manufacturing out to CHINA?
Leftists/Globalists. And Leftists are in fact COMMUNISTS and they do what?...HELP other COMMUNISTS.
Get a Freekin Clue America, we have been SOLD OUT and now we're in a real mess. Time to reclaim our country and put ALL the Communists in PRISON or worse!
9 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
jeffkinnh 3/25/2020 9:24:38 AM (No. 357300)
After the Chinese virus settles out, this is going to help turbocharge the American economy and rebuild even stronger. The challenge will be to build the workforce to handle it. We were short of workers to begin with. We are going to need to have more permanent LEGAL immigration of skilled labor to build our industries. A lot of Americans need to wake up if they don't want to be second class citizens in their own Country. The immigrants will be educated, motivated, and capable. Americans may have first choice but they still need the skill and motivation to do the work. Frankly, I see a lot of younger Americans who don't "get it". They go to college, get a degree in "cultural studies of earthworms" with a "C" average and think the world is going to rush to their door. Oh, they also rack up $200K in debt as well. They don't understand that such a portfolio screams "useless person" to anyone thinking about hiring them. They end up stocking shelves at Target and live in their parents basement eating Ramen noodles.
Also, our educational system is a failure a preparing our youth to be contributing citizens.
7 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
TLCary 3/25/2020 9:33:24 AM (No. 357311)
Q: Who knew that cheap products came at such a high price???
A: Everyone.
5 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 3/25/2020 9:38:59 AM (No. 357324)
Why haven't those manufacturing companies already clawed their way back home?
3 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 3/25/2020 9:41:21 AM (No. 357328)
2nd post apologies: Just look at any bottle, jar, etc., of ANY brand hand sanitizer you can find. It plainly says, ''Made in China.'' Some folks are starting to make it at home and sharing the recipes.
6 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Strike3 3/25/2020 9:45:02 AM (No. 357335)
No need to panic. We first need to reclassify what products are critical to our lives and what is not. Make the critical stuff here and let China build all the widgets they want to save us a few pennies and keep them dependent on the crumbs we throw them. If they want to threaten not to ship Yin Yang T-Shirts and Soy Sauce to us, I'm fine with that.
2 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
stablemoney 3/25/2020 9:53:46 AM (No. 357350)
The manufacturers would never have left except the Democrats put 35% income taxes on them, then piled on more state and local taxes. More reasonable tax policies would keep American companies in America, instead of offshore.
6 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Omen55 3/25/2020 10:05:30 AM (No. 357373)
After a careful study anything that could be used against US must be moved back to US.
China can keep the matchbox cars.
1 person likes this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
jacksin5 3/25/2020 10:05:56 AM (No. 357374)
A strong workforce equals a strong America. The "Service Economy" we have had in place for the last 40 years has kept wages low, and the two breadwinner family the norm. Exporting manufacturing overseas increased their standard of living as workers demanded to be paid enough to purchase the products they were making.
Being a salesman, stock clerk etc. for these self-same products is what has kept the American economy down. Weneed to once again become manufacturers and exporters
1 person likes this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
DVC 3/25/2020 10:57:30 AM (No. 357441)
I hope it gets to where if a product has "Made in China" on it, people will complain to the store manager and refuse to buy it.
6 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
Foghorn 3/25/2020 12:49:05 PM (No. 357620)
It's about time. The manufacture of pharmaceutical product in China is a security breach for the country. Manufacturing micro chips and communications product is another security breach. In the event of conflict that would hinder operations around the world. Stealing industrial secrets and nation secrets has been largely ignored. China, for the most part, has not been held accountable for stealing secrets. The steel industry in America has been manipulated by China through their manipulation of their money value. China has control over several rare earth mines. Rare earth is used to manufacture batteries for electric cars. We have one identified rare earth deposits in America. China will control the price of rare earth around the world. Go into any store and pick up an item an it will not be made in America. Dog food is a prime example.
2 people like this.
For many years we have not been a self sustaining country. Time to reward farmers and bring manufacturing back to the US. We can start with pharmaceutical companies. Remember when foreigners wanted to buy our ports? They wanted to build the Air Bus in Canada? Maybe first we need to get rid of Dems in Congress.
Thank gawd Shillary was not elected as prez.
0 people like this.
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