[odawg]

“The biggest reason to manufacture mobile phones in Asia is that the size of the Asian consumer market is staggering.”

That is laughable. Companies export their products now, as they have been doing so for thousands of years. It doesn’t really cost that much to freight mobile phones.

[Alberta's Child]

True. But since the U.S. dollar is a very strong global currency, we are always going to be at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to manufacturing products that can be produced anywhere ... especially products that are manufactured for sale in Third World countries.

That's why U.S. industrial output is higher than ever before, but we are heavily involved in the manufacture of products that are sold to governments or wealthy consumers -- aircraft, cars, machinery, weapons, etc.