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The U.S. Content of “Made in China”
Posted by Sam Erica on 2/14, 6:40pm
From the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco:

What part of the cost of goods “Made in China” is actually due to the cost of these imports and what part reflects the value added by U.S. transportation, wholesale, and retail activities? That is, what is the U.S. content of “Made in China”?

Local content of “Made in China”
Obviously, if a pair of sneakers made in China costs $70 in the United States, not all of that retail price goes to the Chinese manufacturer. In fact, the bulk of the retail price pays for transportation of the sneakers in the United States, rent for the store where they are sold, profits for shareholders of the U.S. retailer, and the cost of marketing the sneakers. These costs include the salaries, wages, and benefits paid to the U.S. workers and managers who staff these operations. Table 1 shows that, of the 11.5% of U.S. consumer spending that goes for goods and services produced abroad, 7.3% reflects the cost of imports. The remaining 4.2% goes for U.S. transportation, wholesale, and retail activities. Thus, 36% of the price U.S. consumers pay for imported goods actually goes to U.S. companies and workers.

 The author fails to bring to our attention that the remaining 4.2% would be an overhead even if the goods were produced in the US. If the author inadvertently forgot to incorporate that effect then he's incompetent. If he omitted it intentionally, it's propaganda. If he didn't know of that effect then he's ignorant. If he collaborates with other journalists with this type of misleading report then he's your political and philosophical enemy. (The transportation across the Pacific is a factor but I don't know if it would accrue to the US, China or to some other carrier.)

You can’t have an economy that produces nothing but services. If all you’re producing is haircuts, massages, retail sales, lube jobs, etc. there is an imbalance in international payments, and the effect will sooner or later come home to roost.

I’m not arguing against free trade … I’m arguing for a balance of payments.

Sam

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