Global Crisis/Innovation Blog

All-American, but – Made In China:  America is #2, First Time in 110 Years!

By Shlomo Maital

 American Barbie, “Made in China”

Writing in The Financial Times (March 18),  Gillian Tett notes that despite the lower dollar, slightly appreciating yuan, and deep understanding that America must repatriate its manufacturing from offshore sites, to create well-paying jobs – many things that are labeled “American” are in fact still Chinese-made. 

• At the American Girl store in Manhattan, the ‘all-American” dolls and clothes are Made in China.  Including Barbies.
• Apple is American; however, according to Tett,  “components for the iPhone are variously assembled in China, Korea, Taipei, Germany and the US, involving almost a dozen companies which are hard to pigeonhole with any ethnic label”.  

According to Tett, “the economics consultancy IHS Global Insight calculated that in 2010 China displaced America as the largest manufacturer in the world – the first time that the US has lost this top slot for 110 years”.

  The head of the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy,  has recently (according to Tett) said that economists should stop paying attention to “imports” and “exports”, because so many goods have imported components that “made in China” or “made in America” has no meaning any more.   There is a simple solution.  Measure “net export value added” (the value added to imported components for export goods).   Trade statistics are not arbitrary; it DOES make a huge difference where things are made, whether in China or America, to workers who make a living in factories.    And for buyers, it should also make a difference whether American Barbie dolls are made in Shanghai or in Peoria.