It wasn't always "the almighty dollar", although that is often the reason.
But... Consider certain cold-forged steel parts, for example. Nobody in the US ever bothered to go into the biz of manufacturing them. The Taiwanese were aggressive, and did. It turned out they often were not really cheaper (esp. in the beginning) but they worked better and looked better - our customers DEMANDED them. Later, production went to China, and often was more problematic, but we were stuck with it.
Magnets? Similar story, but more direct. While several of the Chinese suppliers were unreliable, QC-wise, a couple simply made better parts than any of the US suppliers (except one that was way high priced and bit the dust early on.) Our customers were mostly mid-high end, and demanded good stuff. End of that story.
I'm not sure what the answers are. More equitable trade deals, and in particular not giving "3rd world" nations ridiculous advantages that never go away is one. Not hamstringing our own industries is another - IMO that might be the biggest factor of all. But, OTOH, one would have to be crazy to permit Chinese type pollution.
Perhaps more industries and products should be designated as critical industries / products and further propped up, but, how much more gov't interference and control in the marketplace do we want? When you get it in some ways, you usually get it in a lot more ways.
This is not the thread to debate all that, I suppose - I'm just pointing out that some of the issues involved are NOT easy.
Thanks for that input. Interesting times we live in.