

"Only $4 of an iPod that costs $150 to produce is made in China" - cwan
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703312504575141790705775672-lMyQjAxMTAwMDIwOTEyNDkyWj.html

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Tichy
I don't understand it: why would the intermediate goods not be accounted for?
Some stuff goes into a country, some stuff goes out of a country. The
difference in value is probably what people are looking for? Why should it
matter if the goods are "intermediate" or not?

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dailo10
Intermediate goods aren't accounted for because it's complicated and difficult
to figure out.

It matters because it misrepresents the trade deficit, which is a sensitive
political issue. As the article points out, the real U.S. trade deficit with
China may actually be 30% lower while the trade deficit with Japan may
actually be 25% higher.

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adoyle
This could be a case where the SourceMap project could provide useful info.
e.g. <http://www.sourcemap.org/object/ipod>

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smackfu
The previous WSJ article about that study:

[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/business/worldbusiness/28s...](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/business/worldbusiness/28scene.html)

$73 of the $299 price was a Japanese hard drive. $80 went to Apple in America.

