How many of our jobs are dependent on overseas trade?
Is Yours?
Out of my family, 1 out of 10 has a job dependent on overseas trade. The rest of us are in education or technology.
And if someone opened a factory, she could easily get a job there with her skills.
So I see NO downside other then a short period of adjustment.
All of our jobs. You are making a mistake of focusing on the product. Evey singe firm saves on materials that go into production ---even if pens and other office supplies. Your firm (school) buys electricity from a company that also saves from materials purchased abroad, so you pay less for that electricity. You may want to read up on these issues: just like physics or engineering, you can't learn economics and management merely by observation.
"And if someone opened a factory, she could easily get a job there with her skills."
No she could not. You arrive at logical conclusions but star from incomplete or incorrect data. Skills provide a benefit for the employer but there are costs as well: her salary. One of the reasons we outsource so many jobs is that those that we demand salaries that don't justify our keep (the more recent one is the increased health care costs as well). That is the sole reason no TV set has been produced in America for decades: the skills are their but too costly. These high salaries make products (TVs) expensive and not competitive; since producers can't sell them, they don't produce them.
"So I see NO downside other then a short period of adjustment."
Well, if you look at the engine of your car, you will see NO reason it should work either. As I said earlier, read up on economics.