With the case of electronics it really gets complex. Sometimes you'll get inside the Made in Wherever product and find chips made in the US, China, Korea etc. The great capacitor plague of about 10 years ago or so was because of stolen Japanese designs being made for cheap in China. Even now "Japanese made" is still a selling point for capacitors.
Absolutely it's difficult. However, I know from my own line of work that traceability of components and raw materials is possible. Maybe a negative certification system for consumer products would work rather than a positive one: Prove that your products are made outside of China or you can't put the sticker on your product.
We're talking consumer goods here where there is a lot more room for fuckery.
With the case of electronics it really gets complex. Sometimes you'll get inside the Made in Wherever product and find chips made in the US, China, Korea etc. The great capacitor plague of about 10 years ago or so was because of stolen Japanese designs being made for cheap in China. Even now "Japanese made" is still a selling point for capacitors.
Absolutely it's difficult. However, I know from my own line of work that traceability of components and raw materials is possible. Maybe a negative certification system for consumer products would work rather than a positive one: Prove that your products are made outside of China or you can't put the sticker on your product.
We're talking consumer goods here where there is a lot more room for fuckery.