Manufacturing: The China Inc. model

Feb 2, 2021
Why is it sometimes cheaper for U.S. consumers to buy goods from China than from local vendors?
A worker in a southern China shoe factory. Many Chinese manufacturers say they are making goods Americans no longer want to produce.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace
About one third of the 737 aircraft that Boeing builds are bought by Chinese customers.
Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

One member of Congress is still taking on tariffs

"We're trying to make sure that we don't lose jobs and that we treat our American companies fairly," Rep. Jackie Walorski says.
U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) visits a manufacturing facility in Wabash, Indiana.
Courtesy of the office of Jackie Walorski

Book printers are reporting a surprising end-of-year crunch

Jan 1, 2019
For the first time in a decade the industry is seeing more demand than it can supply.
"Now we get about five to 10 queries every single week from people who are really faced with the prospect of having to turn their home environment into their office environment," said Nick Bates, CEO of Bookbarn International.
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"These folks are caught in a trap" by tariffs, U.S. representative says

Aug 2, 2018
Jackie Walorski from Indiana's 2nd District led an analysis of the tariff exemption process.
Rep. Jackie Walorski, a Republican from Indiana, says she's had many conversations with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, “and they've been eyeball to eyeball.”
Alex Wong/Getty Images

As the steel tariff exemption process drags on, optimism wanes

Jun 4, 2018
An American tire cord producer is frustrated by President Trump's 25 percent levy and an objection to his exemption application.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross testifies about U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing in Washington, D.C.,  in March.
AFP Photo / Saul Loeb

American manufacturers cope with the loss of EU tariff exemptions

Duties seem like a thing between countries, but individual businesses often wind up holding the economic bag.
Rail cars loaded with rolled up steel at ThyssenKrupp Schwelgern steel plant on May 30, 2018, in Duisburg, Germany.
Michael Gottschalk/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

One family-run business caught in the crosshairs of global trade policy

May 30, 2018
Fifth-generation foundry owners say a changing consensus about manufacturing in Washington is "overdue."
Goldens' Foundry and Machine Co. is a fifth-generation family-owned business in Columbus, Georgia.
Daisy Palacios/Marketplace

About half of Americans don't really care who makes the things they buy

Jan 4, 2018
A survey from the site The Grommet found that Americans have an "ignorance is bliss" mindset.
Carsten/Three Lions/Getty Images

A peek inside Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind is also a glimpse at manufacturing in America

Dec 29, 2017
Nonprofit Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind is helping to create local manufacturing jobs while providing work for the visually impaired.
Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind CEO Hugh McElroy is positioning the organization to take on new manufacturing jobs.
Lauren Silverman/ for Marketplace