Interesting about the oranges from Mexico going to Florida. When I've hauled Mexican produce, usually from Laredo TX, up to Canada, I was given strict specific instructions NOT to travel through either California, or Florida. Had something to do with USDA regulations, as well as protecting the American producers. Another possibility is that those oranges were grown on a Sunkist owned farm in Mexico. o No:
I don't know if this is related, but when I was living in AZ, I tried to order some of those fancy fruits they sell from the groves. Seems it was not allowed to send oranges from FL to AZ.
I see where some of the comments involve clothing. Believe me, outside of specialized protective clothing where in many cases it is mandated that it be U.S. made (for obvious reasons) there is no way anyone is going avoid purchasing clothing that is either made or assembled outside the U.S. without paying a much, much higher price.
I was in China Mart on Saturday. I looked at all the kids cloths. Made in: China Kenya Bangladesh Sri Lanka
Clothing has been off-shored for decades, long before the current craze. This is understandable, since most of the cost of clothing is in the labor. Yes, some manufacturers now use fancy lasers to cut the cloth, but the actual sewing is performed by women and children for peanuts. What I don't get is why manufacturing for many other items is supposedly cheaper overseas. For electronics and many mechanical devices, the labor content is almost nil. Fabrication and assembly is largely automated. So how come it's cheaper over there? It must come down to taxes, environmental laws, etc. Of course, a big part of the problem is that the head honchos don't know how to count. They'll farm out the manufacture of a small assembly to save 10 - 20% over US-built. Fair enough. But what happens when that container gets delayed in customs? Your end product doesn't ship. How much does that cost you? Or what happens when a quality problem is found and now you've got 200,000 gidgets that are worthless? Even if the off-shore manufacturer corrects the problem and replaces all units for free, in the mean time you either don't ship product or ship defective product. Again, how much does that cost you? Enlightened managment knows that much of the value of their company is in the manufacturing. Losing your core competency is a sure path to ruin. But hey, it makes the bottom line look better this quarter!
That is a big one you hit on. I read somewhere that up to 70% of the rivers in China are not fit for human contact. Not consumption.........contact. And the liberals here wanted the US to sign up for Kyoto, even though China was off the hook and regarded as "developing". Yet those same folks who support Kyoto don't give a damn where stuff is made....... Kinda like a buddies Mother in Law who was sporting around a Toyota, (Imported) with a Green Peace sticker on it. When I asker her how she could reconcile her beliefs seeing as how at the time Japan was the largest importer of South American rain forest wood, killer of Dolphins and Whales as well as the biggest buyer of poached endangered species. She just could not make the connection.
