Tariffs and sky high audio prices.

I bought my sixteen year old daughter a VPI turntable for Christmas with ELAC in-the-wall speakers!

If obesity is caused in part by over-consumption of low quality food, then what is the inevitable result of oversaturating our children with low-res MP3 heard through $9 earbuds?

Earbesity?

And with the climate change food is going to be more expensive unless major changes are made. On the other hand, so many people I heard of eat way too much, much more than they need. Besides other consequences, they spend a lot on food, probably three or four times more than I do, and then they think that $100 for a record is outrageous. 
So..I think we have the right to know where the parts for audio components we buy come from, conditions under which they are manufactured, standards, projected longevity etc. Then each one would make an informed decision for himself. If something is assembled in the US from mostly non-US parts it is not made in US item even if the company is US registered. If a critical part like tube or transistor is not American this is not exactly American equipment even if all the other parts are. This country became incredibly dependent on the others, both for import and export, and I think it is no go. Self sufficiency is more important than rampant consumerism.

There was a time when the conditions you would like to see were being operated under. But as jobs and manufacturing were being sent overseas (not stolen), the same movers and shakers were busy contributing to politicians to have labeling laws changed in order to fool American consumers. 

What you want is not what they want.

All the best,
Nonoise

Yeah.
Another point regarding Chinese that was almost untouched in this thread is that there are so many Chinese students in American universities. They pay full price, spend a lot on living, most go back to China with the knowledge how to compete. And some stay here to steal the technology. Of course, there are also true refugees and just normal people who can't tolerate that regime.
But all this is not only American problems. Look at the UK and France and even Australia. 
What will happen if Chinese learn before the West how to control the environment ? This would become the ultimate tool. Big part of the destruction of Amazonian forest is because of the Chinese buying up everything. And in return they give us what ? S***, that's what.