This forced the manufactures to reduce their costs, which was labor. They engaged Chinese companies to make their goods. Next they were forced by market pressures to use crappy materials in their products. Also, parts became thinner with the use of less crappy material.
Now I'll tell you something else. The middle man, like Walmart, was already making obscene profit levels. I visited a Singer factory that was making power hand tools for Sears. I spotted a router that I owned, and pointed that out to the comptroller of the factory. I told him that I paid $72 for the router. He replied, "We deliver that to Sears for $7.28! 1000% markup!".
All retailers mark up that much.
American labor was never the issue. The issue is greed at the middle man and cheapness in the customers.
Without NATFA, GATT & the WTO creating a zero tariff barrier to imported Chinese and Mexican goods, American corporations would never have left our shores. Once corporations are relocated (thank you phony Chamber of Commerce conservatives) they enjoy labor at bread and water wages that can't be matched here. But keep bashing the American consumer for something that aren't responsible for. Trade decisions are way over their pay grade.