I think the other problem is that our economy is too tied up with Chinese products. We simply cannot unring the bell–and American companies and other multinational corporations know this. If its not China, then it will be Vietnam, India, or some other place. But I don’t think we’ll ever go back to “Made in the USA” as good as it sounds.

Of course, I am not an economist by trade, but these are my thoughts.

I agree with you; the reliance on Chinese imports is currently far too high for the TJ’s partial pull-back to constitute so much as a ripple in the pool.

I think that things will start to get interesting if shoppers at chain stores begin to organize boycotts of Chinese products, which is something that could happen — and has, in small ways — even *if* QC improves. This is slightly different from your point about “America abandoning Chinese products en masse.” As you said, the business import-export relationship is too tight (fun fact that I just learned: Wal-Mart, one of the stores you mentioned, imports an estimated $15 billion worth of Chinese goods a year, and this # is steadily increasing) for trade to take a hit, but it’s possible that we could see a big change in consumer attitudes later that just might add up to something.

Or maybe that’s too unlikely; perhaps competitive prices will continue to win hearts at the end of the day. What do you think?

Thanks for your comment.

So what does this really mean? For those businesses still using Chinese suppliers, do your due diligence first. And then do some quality control. And again. And again. QC is your friend.