If we started buying stuff made in other countries because it was cheaper, then if we made that production come back to the U.S., wouldn't that mean that the prices would have to go back up? Just a thought experiment, but I'm unable to find a way around it.
Yes and no. Real wages in US manufacturing have been on a steady decline for a long time now, and the cost of manufacturing goods overseas has been steadily increasing. After factoring in all associated costs with importing goods from a place like China, the difference in cost might even tip towards made in the US being cheaper in the long run. That said, a lot of countries other than China do still have cheap slave laborers that we depend on to give us cheap stuff, and we just can't compete with that using our domestic work force. Also if the local workers unionize and push wages up more towards what they would be had they kept pace with inflation, then local goods will be far more expensive. The cost of a new factory would certainly inflate a lot of short term prices too.
All that said, I know a lot of people that would be willing to pay a substantial premium for well made goods that were produced domestically. Everyone has experienced just how terrible the goods we source from overseas often are, and if paying double or triple for something means that you get a useful lifespan that's 5 times longer, a lot of people are willing to pay that. There are also a lot of people that would happily pay for goods that they know for certain weren't made in a Sri Lankan sweatshop.
I think what we need are product reviews that aren't so easily gamed by $$$. As it is, you don't know if the premium you pay for a product translates into quality.
Probably yes, but some of the countries we've outsourced to have improved their quality of living. So it is possible that made in America could be cheaper than making it overseas and then shipping it over (I think this is unlikely, but it is at least hypothetically possible).
Alternatively, touched on in the article, it could be seen as preferable to get some supply chains entirely inside the US -- would have been nice to have more US mask manufacturing a couple years ago.
They didn't mention any changes to law or trade policy in the article so I guess these companies are looking in the US for economic reasons. They might just see the shortened supply line as worth the US manufacturing costs...
Generally yes prices go up when goods are manufactured in higher cost areas.
But the profit/price can be the same with higher labor costs if the manufacturing efficiency is improved(due to automation mostly), or costs like shipping and taxes are lower.
Exactly, a huge part of the delivery of low cost Chinese goods was subsidized delivery by the USPS. That was subsidized by US agreement rather than foreign labor. If the delivery was a realistic $5 for the 50cent paper cups you ordered, it wouldn't be competitive to import them (directly through Amazon/eBay).
The advantage China has had is really factories and supply chains due to investment. Building those factories in the US is totally possible at marginal increases in price, but simultaneously marginal decreases on profit. Having a foreign government borrow/loan all the money to build the infrastructure for your factories simply for the cost of transferring your IP to them seemed like an obvious quarterly profit improvement!
If we started buying stuff made in other countries because it was cheaper, then if we made that production come back to the U.S., wouldn't that mean that the prices would have to go back up? Just a thought experiment, but I'm unable to find a way around it.