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by WheelsAtLarge 2236 days ago
True, but that's been the argument against outsourcing manufacturing for 40+ years. Yet, it is still being done.

I think the best the US can do, right now, is to import from countries where it has some clout and can better control manufacturing. It's crazy to think that a big chunk of your products are being manufactured in China, a country that is competing against you.

1 comments

>True, but that's been the argument against outsourcing manufacturing for 40+ years. Yet, it is still being done.

And it's generally made the world a better place. Even current conflicts don't even remotely compare to the Cold War. Some historical perspective may be needed but the world is better off if it engages in trade and specialisation. Nobody gains from the US retreating into a new era of isolation.

Missing the /s?

The entire world now has single points of failure because of this kind of specialization. Sure, it makes certain classes lots of money but it forces others into poverty and when bad things happen suddenly your supply for critical goods is cut off. To say nothing of the geopolitical consequences here, where letting so much of high tech manufacturing accrue in one country presents tremendous risk if anything goes sideways.

Parent is talking about outsourcing in general.

You are talking about risk from concentrating supply chains in a single (foreign) country.