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Shrinking US CapEx makes re-shoring a charade

China’s growing dominance of global supply chains is the result of chronic US underinvestment in manufacturing

by David P. Goldman November 30, 2023December 1, 2023

Reshoring image: Asia Times files

In April 2023, Asia Times released a study of US trade dependencies under the title, “The Great Re-Shoring Charade.” We found that the United States imported less from China only because it imported more from countries dependent on Chinese semi-finished goods, components and capital goods.

In effect, America’s “friend-shoring” partners assembled finished goods out of imported Chinese components and shipped them on to the United States.