A foreign-owned auto plant assembling largely-imported parts – or parts made mostly from imported materials – is better than nothing, but it is not a replacement for what was so foolishly given away. Look at the unsustainable Trade Deficit! Now we find that China is not only making the smart phones we use, it is making the software we run on them.
To be serious for a moment, we are sleep-walking our way into disaster.
It is unsustainable to continue to export freshly-printed Bidenbucks in exchange for imported Real Goods & Services. We can all guess what happens when the exporters decide they do not need any more IOUs. As has so often been said – That which cannot continue will not continue. The ongoing contraction of the industrial base has been a slow process, but it will be an existential issue for us all.