3 ms·

The "Made in America" range is probably mostly made in China too, but with just enough assembly to be able to declare that it isn't, sold with a higher profit t

by pydry 1y ago

The "Made in America" range is probably mostly made in China too, but with just enough assembly to be able to declare that it isn't, sold with a higher profit to collect the consumer surplus from less price sensitive customers.

franktankbank 1y ago
True, I saw a bunch of fiber optic components assembled in America that bypassed tariffs (2016-2017 era) where obviously the hard part had been done somewhere overseas. Wasn't even about the Made in America branding.
- jajko 1y ago
  Same for ie Switzerland. You have these Victorinox and Wengen knives which are proper tourist souvenirs (on top of being fine little knives). Most of them is done in neighboring countries, and only final assembly is done in the country to pass "Made in Switzerland". Fine products but shady behavior to say the least.
SpicyLemonZest 1y ago
Perhaps some people lie, but the "Made in America" designation is specifically regulated by the FTC (https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-made-usa-standard https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-ma...), and unlike similar regulations in other countries it doesn't permit these kind of final assembly shenanigans. The entire thing has to be made end-to-end in the US with negligible foreign input. One specific example they list is a lamp with an imported base; even though the base is neither a functional component nor a large amount of the cost, the manufacturer may not claim that the lamp as a whole is American-made. I've actually seen arguments that this is so strong it loops back around to discouraging American manufacturing. Is there any "Made in America" loving consumer who wouldn't be happy to buy that lamp?
- zahlman 1y ago
  > Is there any "Made in America" loving consumer who wouldn't be happy to buy that lamp? Perhaps they need to have everyone agree on labeling that fairly describes the product but is still flattering enough to motivate consumer decisions.

by pydry 1y ago

franktankbank 1y ago

True, I saw a bunch of fiber optic components assembled in America that bypassed tariffs (2016-2017 era) where obviously the hard part had been done somewhere overseas. Wasn't even about the Made in America branding.

jajko 1y ago
Same for ie Switzerland. You have these Victorinox and Wengen knives which are proper tourist souvenirs (on top of being fine little knives). Most of them is done in neighboring countries, and only final assembly is done in the country to pass "Made in Switzerland". Fine products but shady behavior to say the least.

SpicyLemonZest 1y ago

Perhaps some people lie, but the "Made in America" designation is specifically regulated by the FTC (https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-made-usa-standard https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-ma...), and unlike similar regulations in other countries it doesn't permit these kind of final assembly shenanigans. The entire thing has to be made end-to-end in the US with negligible foreign input. One specific example they list is a lamp with an imported base; even though the base is neither a functional component nor a large amount of the cost, the manufacturer may not claim that the lamp as a whole is American-made. I've actually seen arguments that this is so strong it loops back around to discouraging American manufacturing. Is there any "Made in America" loving consumer who wouldn't be happy to buy that lamp?

zahlman 1y ago
> Is there any "Made in America" loving consumer who wouldn't be happy to buy that lamp? Perhaps they need to have everyone agree on labeling that fairly describes the product but is still flattering enough to motivate consumer decisions.