I'm no apologist for Chinese-made goods, but I think it's worth mentioning that "US-made" is no guarantee that it was made to legal standards. Sweatshops are rife in the US, especially in the garment industry.
China has flooded the market with cheap, cheap junk, in an effort to drive everything else out of the market. And, to a great extent, they've done this by ignoring most environmental and labor rules that we've imposed upon ourselves, polluting their environment and putting their people to work in conditions that we wouldn't stand.
Absolutely true. But also worth mentioning: China is not doing this on its own. The US Chamber of Commerce, for example, while officially pressing for decent conditions for Chinese workers has unofficially pressed for that to be ignored so that prices will stay low.* The US, and all other countries including my own who buy these goods from China, are as culpable in this as China.
*See Ellen Ruppel Shell's book "Cheap: The High Cost Of Discount Culture" for an eye-opening account of this.
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China has flooded the market with cheap, cheap junk, in an effort to drive everything else out of the market. And, to a great extent, they've done this by ignoring most environmental and labor rules that we've imposed upon ourselves, polluting their environment and putting their people to work in conditions that we wouldn't stand.
Absolutely true. But also worth mentioning: China is not doing this on its own. The US Chamber of Commerce, for example, while officially pressing for decent conditions for Chinese workers has unofficially pressed for that to be ignored so that prices will stay low.* The US, and all other countries including my own who buy these goods from China, are as culpable in this as China.
*See Ellen Ruppel Shell's book "Cheap: The High Cost Of Discount Culture" for an eye-opening account of this.