https://amac.us/manufacturers-flee-china-but-biden-policies-keep-them-out-of-america/?utm_objective=website_traffic&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=amac&utm_medium=daily_news_am&utm_content=mfc050323&dderh=d9ce7878b51b769badfad340617f18f3Late last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple would move 25% of all iPhone production to India by 2025, joining a growing number of companies shifting away from China amid escalating geopolitical tensions. But as China sees its status as the world’s foremost manufacturer begin to slip, U.S. President Joe Biden’s regulatory assaults and onerous tax policies mean that many American businesses are relocating to countries besides the United States.
Apple’s announcement in April was just the latest relocation news from the world’s most valuable company. In February, Apple supplier Foxconn also released plans for a $300 million facility in Vietnam, citing supply chain issues, riots at the company’s Zhengzhou factory, and extreme COVID-19 restrictions in China. Other companies have followed suit. Dell and HP quietly announced plans to shift 30% of their laptop manufacturing out of China in January. Nike has been moving production from China to elsewhere in Southeast Asia and Africa for years. Toy company Hasbro recently moved most of its production to Vietnam and India. Google plans to move production of its smartphone and various smart home products out of China in the near future.
All of this is part of a broader trend that has led to a downturn in the Chinese manufacturing sector – even before the pandemic. From 2016 to the present day, China’s consumer goods exports have dropped in almost every major category. Specifically, clothing and accessories, furniture, travel goods and handbags, as well as footwear have all fallen by more than 10%.