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Not likely. When manufacturing comes back to the US it's because the company calculated the cost of a US-based automated factory was less than the shipping + t
by mdorazio 7y ago
Not likely. When manufacturing comes back to the US it's because the company calculated the cost of a US-based automated factory was less than the shipping + tariffs on the foreign-produced goods. If manual labor jobs leave China, they will go to other low-cost countries like Malaysia, Vietnam, etc. or be lost forever. Even producing things in Mexico can cut your labor cost in half in comparison to producing here.
- WillPostForFood 7y agoAn automated factory in the US is more US jobs than a factory in China. It is a net positive even though you don't get all the jobs back.
- User23 7y agoMore importantly it's a strategic positive. Productive capacity is defense capacity. Buying gewgaws, knickknacks, and flipflops from a strategic competitor is one thing, buying defense technology is another, and it's not the path to security.
- nearbuy 7y agoIt could mean more US jobs, but it could also mean fewer if you look more broadly. Say US companies are having PCBs manufactured in China because that's currently the cheapest option. You cut off that option and US companies are forced use more expensive domestic options. The effects of that can ripple through US companies that directly or indirectly depend on PCBs, and the jobs lost throughout the economy could be greater than the jobs gained from the new automated factories.
- mr_toad 7y agoThe gains by US producers will be outweighed by losses to US consumers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadweight_loss https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadweight_loss In addition, much of the gain will accrue to a smaller number of business owners, while the losses will be spread across the wider public. Inevitably, those in control will manipulate the situation to their own advantage.
- ianai 7y agoExactly. They wouldn’t go from China to the US. They’d go from China to somewhere closer to the economic factors of China - India, Brazil, etc
- User23 7y agoThat's the point. It's strategically and economically superior for the US to depend on {South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, India, the Philippines, Brazil,...} for 600 billion in imports than to depend entirely on {China} for them. Edit: Lol I shouldn't have posted this during Chinese lunch hour :X