News
LA Times: Chinese firms bargain hunting in U.S.
State incentives and a weak dollar are spurring investment by a growing wave of Chinese entrepreneurs. From Spartanburg to Los Angeles, they are building U.S. factories, buying companies and investing in business and real estate.
Fortune: You have 7 years to learn Mandarin
While short-term investors are already cashing in on China’s growth by playing the global commodities boom, smart long-term thinkers are contemplating what happens when China matures from an exporter of cheap goods to a competitor in sectors where the U.S. is dominant - technology, brand building, finance.
Reuters: Obama: U.S. must push China on currency
"What we need to do is just be better bargainers and say ‘Look, here’s the bottom line: You guys keep on manipulating your currency, we are going to start shutting off access to some of our markets,” Obama said at a forum hosted by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which has launched a statewide “China Cheats. Pennsylvania Loses” campaign.
Slate: The Last Days of Cheap Chinese
Why American consumers are about to start paying more for clothes, electronics, toys, and just about everything else.
Wired: Once the World’s Great Factory, China Is the Next Great Innovator
"The country’s hottest export is actually cold cash. Until recently, China’s pinstripe brigades were happy to stash the national hoard—$1.5 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, and counting—in US T-bills and other financial no-brainers. Now they’re buying resources to feed their global ambition: raw materials [...]”
NPR: Clinton, Obama and NAFTA: A Non-Issue?
"The U.S. trade deficit with China is more than three times greater than with Mexico or Canada. So, if you think free trade hurts the United States, China is a much bigger threat than NAFTA.”
Sierra: Ways & Means: The China Syndrome
"The problem is not China. The problem is a business model in which companies outsource manufacturing under short-term, low-cost contracts to the firm that will follow their design standards most cheaply. [...] We’re not really paying for quality goods anymore--we’re paying for high-priced marketing and design combined with low-wage, exploited workers producing inferior products using shoddy safety and environmental standards.”
NYT: Despite Nafta Attacks, Clinton and Obama Haven’t Been Free Trade Foes
"Both appear to have been part of the conflicted middle ground within the Democratic Party that is groping for a proper balance between being friendly to free trade agreements, believing they are beneficial to the economy, but also seeking to level the playing field for the United States “
World Sock Capital Suffers From Duty-Free Imports
"Globalization has been really bad for the sock industry of Fort Payne, AL.”
Halloween costume teeth pulled from US shops
Chinese-made “Ugly Teeth” are designed to be worn in the mouth, adding to the likelihood of lead ingestion.
Indian ‘slave’ children found making low-cost clothes destined for Gap
Gap said it was unaware that clothing intended for the Christmas market had been improperly subcontracted to a sweatshop using child labor.
Mattel recalls 55,000 Chinese-made toys for lead
Fourth recall in six months for Chinese-made toys containing lead paint.
Cub Scout badge is latest Chinese lead recall
Regardless of the lead issue, why are Boy Scout badges being made in China?
More Chinese-made products recalled for lead content
More than a half-million Chinese-made products were recalled Thursday, including Pirates of the Caribbean and Baby Einstein toys, because they contain dangerous levels of lead.
Photos of Toys Manufacturer in China
Interesting.
Domestic Hero
Product safety recalls, growing trade deficits, and foreign dependency. The reasons to buy products made in America are numerous. Domestic Hero features issues, stories, and products made in America.
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