“When I go to a typical retail store in the U.S. I’m seeing more and more things from Vietnam, Malaysia and even the former Yugoslav republics.”
And they are far better products than the cheap crap we get from China.
It really comes down to management.
Good and bad products can be made anywhere.
Malaysia is a considerably richer country than China per capita (by 40% or so, quite a lot, they are in the same ballpark as Greece), and its people have a much higher standard of living. If they undercut China as a manufacturer its not because their labor costs are lower.
Making something in China requires a Chinese partner-often of dubious quality. Making something in Malaysia or Eastern Europe allows you to have ownership and total control of manufacturing and quality control.
China has all types of factories and makes the level of quality the buyer wants. If you are seeing cheap crap in a US store, it's because that's what the store chain ordered to maximize its short-term revenue.
Our Upper Class is taking advantage of Chinese Cheap Labor and out greed. The Upper Crust do not see themselves as Americans, they are Citizens of the World. They think Americans are stupid, Trump supporting Hillbillies, with a bottle of moonshine in one hand and a Bible in the other. They see them as worthless, easy to manipulate, a few TV adds and they will vote any way they wish. Only needed for manual Labor until they can be replaced with Latinx Peons.
I very much agree with you about the cheap crap from China. Granted there are some things that the Chinese do well and I appreciate them for that. But then there are other things that require very specific tolerances like auto parts, machine parts, and other things like that. And I hate to say it but the Chinese fail consistently when it comes to doing something perfectly.
When I order things for my cars that are actually made in Germany or Sweden they fit so perfectly you almost don’t even need to bolt them on. The Chinese stuff I’ve given up on.
Which is why I suspect too much of their military is using inferior products for their aircraft, ships, and armor. Just take a look at what the Russian army has had to face with cheap crap Chinese tires falling apart all the time.
I think these wars going on and the trade wars coming out of them are a blessing for the American worker and for the American consumer. Yes prices will be higher. But we will stop trading our birthright to our enemies for the proverbial bowl of soup.