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<blockquote data-quote="audioholic" data-source="post: 7381901" data-attributes="member: 549629">While I agree with you, mostly, and think the Toyota example is a good one, Im not seeing the relevance. I would be hard pressed to name one single product, made out of a relatively large number of component parts, that is 100% &#039;made in USA&#039;. Can you? Back when I was in manufacturing, I worked for a few different American owned and operated companies that made custom automated machinery. We cut the square tube into frames. We machined the parts out of raw steel for fixturing, motion, etc. We cut/bent/painted the sheetmetal skins. You get the point... they were very much &#039;made in the USA&#039; products, especially by today&#039;s standards. But even those machines had pneumatic parts made in Japan, electronics from Korea, etc. Hell, even a lot of the raw steel we bought from a local steel distributor was imported from China.My point is, to set the bar for &#039;made in USA&#039; at every single piece, and the raw material, must be from the US, means you probably cant consider absolutely anything made in USA these days.But again I completely agree with you on the Toyota thing. Did you know, its MUCH cheaper on import tariffs if the car is shipped here in pieces, instead of assembled. That is the main/initial reason Toyota started building assembly plants in this country, being able to advertise as &#039;made in USA&#039; was just a side bonus. And of course, Toyota owners eat it up like candy, not thinking deep enough to realize that the vast majority of labor in a car is making the parts, not assembling them. Especially today&#039;s assembly plants, which are HIGHLY automated.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="audioholic, post: 7381901, member: 549629"] While I agree with you, mostly, and think the Toyota example is a good one, Im not seeing the relevance. I would be hard pressed to name one single product, made out of a relatively large number of component parts, that is 100% 'made in USA'. Can you? Back when I was in manufacturing, I worked for a few different American owned and operated companies that made custom automated machinery. We cut the square tube into frames. We machined the parts out of raw steel for fixturing, motion, etc. We cut/bent/painted the sheetmetal skins. You get the point... they were very much 'made in the USA' products, especially by today's standards. But even those machines had pneumatic parts made in Japan, electronics from Korea, etc. Hell, even a lot of the raw steel we bought from a local steel distributor was imported from China. My point is, to set the bar for 'made in USA' at every single piece, and the raw material, must be from the US, means you probably cant consider absolutely anything made in USA these days. But again I completely agree with you on the Toyota thing. Did you know, its MUCH cheaper on import tariffs if the car is shipped here in pieces, instead of assembled. That is the main/initial reason Toyota started building assembly plants in this country, being able to advertise as 'made in USA' was just a side bonus. And of course, Toyota owners eat it up like candy, not thinking deep enough to realize that the vast majority of labor in a car is making the parts, not assembling them. Especially today's assembly plants, which are HIGHLY automated. [/QUOTE]

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