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I work in manufacturing and we're impacted as well. The largest impact is reduction in Chinese end-user business. The products we make are used in Chinese fact

I work in manufacturing and we're impacted as well. The largest impact is reduction in Chinese end-user business. The products we make are used in Chinese factories to assemble smartphones. Believe it or not (I do) but the Chinese do not possess the technology nor the manufacturing sophistication to make high quality items (read: iPhones) on a large scale efficiently with a domestic (to China) supply chain. Sure, the factories that produce iPhones are capable of producing a conforming iPhone. But the machines it takes to produce a conforming iPhone require technology, skill, and technique the Chinese currently do not possess. So, believe it or not (I can prove it) the Chinese buy their factory equipment from small suppliers in the U.S. where the quality is decent enough to get equipment capable of producing an iPhone. We make the machines they use to laminate screens. We are currently incentivizing China to develop the technology to domestically create the iPhone. That isn't a problem because it puts me out of business. That is a problem for the western economy because it reduces Chinese reliance on the Apple supply chain. We're teaching them, through trial and error, how to replace Apple with Huawei in the Chinese market. If Apple loses the Chinese market; the world market is lost inside of 10 years. We're teaching Huawei how to make an iPhone by brute force by making it economical to do so. Nevermind the price of materials like aluminum has gone crazy. Even the DFARS stuff has gone up as a result of reduced supply in domestic markets. And for some customers we can't use anything else. So either make up the supply difference or get fucked on DFARS requirements. You're the ones costing America it's world dominance. Not us. So do whatever you want, conservatives. My personal opinion is that your trade war is shooting yourselves in the foot.

robk 7y ago
But surely China is doing this regardless of whether America makes it difficult or not. They're dedicated to reducing reliance on any foreign stuff.
- zelon88 7y ago
  But the disparity in quality is truly a problem they struggle with. Their stated goal isn't their core competency. Volume is their competency, not quality. For example, they can't even use a lot of their own materials in aerospace because they have no tracability. That's why nobody builds airplanes in China. If Airbus or Boeing could get a reliable part out of China instead of the US they would love to ship they can save money, but that's not possible and no country would let that plane in their airspace. Probably not even China. China knows this and buys their quality products from elsewhere. It's not cost effective enough yet for them to change that strategy. We are changing that for them.

robk 7y ago

But surely China is doing this regardless of whether America makes it difficult or not. They're dedicated to reducing reliance on any foreign stuff.

zelon88 7y ago
But the disparity in quality is truly a problem they struggle with. Their stated goal isn't their core competency. Volume is their competency, not quality. For example, they can't even use a lot of their own materials in aerospace because they have no tracability. That's why nobody builds airplanes in China. If Airbus or Boeing could get a reliable part out of China instead of the US they would love to ship they can save money, but that's not possible and no country would let that plane in their airspace. Probably not even China. China knows this and buys their quality products from elsewhere. It's not cost effective enough yet for them to change that strategy. We are changing that for them.