Unmade in China: The Hidden Truth about China’s Economic Miracle: Jeremy R. Haft, 2015
-China imports US and World parts, does assembly, ships back to the US, has “made in China” label
-Can’t trust Chinese stats
-Chinese wages rising
-Chinese imports unsafe: widespread, frequent, severe; cannot test most -products, recalls in US/EU frequent
-pollution (air, water, farms)
-Chinese know this, want to buy foreign goods -> opportunity
-not race to bottom but raise prices high for quality
-farming: very little arable land, small plots -> huge fertilizer, antibiotic use
-lack of water, water used inefficiently, wasted
-property not owned, no incentive to farm better
-law: enforcement spotty, would be considered fraudulent in US
-fin markets murky
-steel low quality
-lack of safety culture: unqualified workers
-weak corporate governance, untrained personnel -> lack of innovation
-china’s supply chains: 2-3 times the number of firms as US -> fragmentation
-sub-contracting skirts mfg rules -> quality suffers
-counterfeit goods: Chinese gov’t cannot stop it
-long line of middlemen, complex regulations -> bad input products slip through
-even products labeled made in US have inputs from China, or partial processing in China
-solution: stop buying processed foods, buy fresh fruit, veg, meat from local sources
-organic: China does not grant US permission to inspect farms
-companies: rationalize supply chain, eliminate middlemen, inspect contractors and sub-contractors