Agree as well. Sometimes it isn't so obvious where the parts are being produced which is some of the problem. But to answer the OP yes I'd spend a little more to buy an America Made product...all else being equal.

 

USA first, but I agree with him. I think the Made in China is a real pox for me when I buy anything. They do not seem capable in making quality anything...drywall, baby forumal or even dog food! Seriously.

 

I make an effort to buy US-made whenever possible. Regardless of the guns vs. butter laws of economics, I like to keep my fellow Americans employed and fight the losing battle against the trade deficit.

I've NOT made purchases of products, simply because they were made in China.
I've made unplanned and unintended purchases of products, for no other reason than being surprised and impressed they were made in the USA.

The ones that REALLY frost my ass, though, are the big names that built a reputation for quality and craftsmanship, then moved manufacturing to China and still demanded the same exorbitant prices. When a product is made the in the same place as a no-name, yet carries a price 2x, 5x, or even 10x as the no-name, it gets ZERO of my dollars.
I chuckle when I see people snottily strutting around in clothes with the big-buck names boldly emblazoned on them, yet when I examine those same articles on a rack.....YUP, made in China, SUCKER!

 

Human-made matters to me, I don't care which imaginary border line the product was made within.

I understand we're taught to be tribalistic and all but it's pretty ridiculous when you think about it. It all comes from the same earth man .

 

FWIW, I have a box here that my most recent order from Northridge was sent in, on the box it says...

ARB AIR LOCKER
P-052/2009
SEATTLE
C/NO.8
MADE IN JAPAN

Apparently a few of ARB's products are manufactured in Thailand as well. So all of this nonsense about products possibly being of lesser quality because they arent made at home in the U.S, Canada, North America etc is just ridiculous. Yes there are some things that come from China, Japan, Never Never Land etc that are of lesser quality than similar products made in the U.S but then again there are products that come from these countries that are of better quality than the ones made in the U.S. For me it makes no difference where something is manufactured, all that matters to me is that its made from quality materials.

 

I have some drywall for your remodel, paint for your walls, toys for your kids, formula for your baby, and food for your dog that I've been wanting to get rid of.
Where should I have it delivered?

 

Ask about tools and most people say harbor freight works great at 1/10th the cost. Is everyone cool with HF? I'm confused. Here's an industry that has alot of good American alternatives, at alot of price points from good, like craftsman, klien, otc, etc, to the best of the best (at nearly unreal prices), yet alot of people on this forum insist HF is good enough (whatever that means).

Now I just spent $44 bucks at tools r us on one milwaukee 1" drill bit (made in USA of course), and I could have gotten a whole, 8 pc set, 7/16 - 1" silver and demming drill bit set at HF for $37. The funny thing is, is HF is literally almost a stones throw from t-r-u. Don't get me wrong, I have some HF stuff in my tool chest, so I'm not against chinese products, I guess I'm against cheap, low quality shit, and not everything at HF is low quality, just most of it. The hard part is knowing what is and isn't. I'm willing to pay more for American made products, I do regularly, today being one of them. But there must be real value when the cost is higher.

In the case of this drill bit, the milaukee looks almost like a work of art and proudly wears the made in USA label. The HF alternative looks downright pathetic in comparison. A cheap immitation that looks like it was made by people making 15 cents an hour, crude, and imprecise. But yesterday, I bought some hiking shoes at REI for the spousal unit. They were not cheap, nor were they made in the USA. You guessed it, China. Funny thing is, is that they look fantastic. They better, they were $125.

Now if company F21 (fictional), entered the axle market with chinese D60s that looked awesome. Had chromoly axles, bolted right into a JK, had ARB lockers, big tubes and a strong marketing claim . . . and costed $3000, now then, we might have a serious discussion.

 

I prefer to buy in US made stuff, or at least somewhere in North America now, like as mentioned before, you pay for what you get. I much rather pay more money now for something that will last, than pay for some piece of crap that ends up wasting my money.

 

How about state sponsored manipulation of international trade.

600 sq foot dormitories housing a 8 or more employees earning $300 a month for their 80+ hour, 7 day work weeks.

Violations of international child labor agreements and conditions that in this country would put factory owners in jail.

It's not the chines people who are at fault, it's their government and the foreign companies that would tolerate the working conditions that wouldn't be accepted in their home countries.

 

I vote for American made though the prices may be higher. If you are building components that are bought once and never replaced why risk going cheap. Cheaper products may work, but they could cost you your reputation as a manufacturer and vendor.

I am not saying that the overseas products are of poor quality, but the orginal question kind of implied a poorer quality product.

I am in the heavy construction industry and my business deals with both overseas manufactuered components and machines as well as American components and machines. My experiance favors the American built products. Quality is not the issue. I have had equal disappointment with American quality as with foreign quality. However, response to quality issues, re-design and speed of all responses I will go with American made products hands down.