Made in China
W.J. Astore
Is it a good idea to get in a trade war with China when they make all our stuff?
I thought of that again this morning as I looked at the outfit I'm wearing. LL Bean shorts? Made in China. Frye boat shoes? Made in China. Polo shirt made from organic cotton? Made in China. Brooks running shoes that I put on for my stretching routine? Made in China. My underwear? Made in Thailand. Aha! So not everything comes from China. I also note my Citizen Eco-Drive watch has a Japanese movement, but it's unclear where final assembly took place. Any chance it might also be in China?
I just want to state the obvious here: I'm a thoroughgoing Asian man, representing China, Thailand, and Japan. Even when I don my most American-sounding brands like "True Grit," they are most often made in China.
So, while it's nice to hear that President Trump is calling a temporary trade and tariff truce with China, I have to say the Chinese already own us, and in more ways than one, since they also own trillions of our national debt. Meanwhile, Trump's "tough" tactic of raising tariffs to "punish" the Chinese just passes higher costs to American consumers, so who's really being punished?
Sadly, as I've said before, the only American products I routinely hear about in the news as major money-making exports are weapons of war. Bombs, missiles, guns, warplanes, and the like. America used to be the world's merchant for all kinds of products; now we're better known as the world's leading merchant of death. We're not the "arsenal of democracy," as we were in World War II. Now we're just an arsenal.
Isn't it time we converted our forever war economy into one that produces products that we can wear and enjoy in everyday life?
Or am I forever fated to be a statement of Asian sartorial excellence?