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Amid uncertainties surrounding Trump’s tariff policies, the question of whether production can be brought back to U.S. soil has drawn increasing attention. According to a report from Commercial Times, citing WIRED, the vast majority of American small and medium-sized enterprises say they remain heavily reliant on Chinese factories.
As highlighted by the report, WIRED recently interviewed U.S. business owners across various sectors—including founders of electronics companies, mattress makers, and fashion brands—who unanimously state that China remains the global benchmark for manufacturing. Regardless of how high tariffs may rise, they say relocating production to the U.S. remains extremely difficult.
The report indicates that cost remains a key reason why companies choose to manufacture in China—but low cost does not mean low quality. As noted by WIRED, China is a global leader in industrial machinery production, with factories capable of quickly adapting to meet shifting customer demands. This flexibility allows for efficient handling of small-batch production and customized orders.
In addition, the report mentions that many American business owners say certain products simply cannot be sourced outside of China. The country’s massive industrial clusters and well-integrated supply chains are seen as irreplaceable advantages. The founder of one U.S. company told WIRED that while Vietnam can handle some contract manufacturing, the core technologies are still held by Chinese technicians.
Gelsinger: iPhone Manufacturing in the U.S. is Not Feasible for Now
Meanwhile, the report cites former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who stated on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast that it’s impossible for Apple to suddenly shift iPhone manufacturing back to the U.S.
Gelsinger explained that relocating production to the U.S. requires building an entire ecosystem of interconnected manufacturing facilities to create a complete supply chain cluster, according to Yahoo Finance. He emphasized that this process comes with significant costs and would require decades to fully develop.
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