Pick a country, any country

Blackberries or Raspberries in Safeway Flyer, December 1, 2018

Produce used to be local. What we could buy in the shops was limited by what would grow in the surrounding countryside. And the seasons for many fruits and vegetables were often quite limited.

But those days are long gone. Now the entire world is our grocery store and thus we can buy fruits like Blackberries and Raspberries at any time of the year. By expanding the sourcing part of the supply chain the risks of crop failures cutting off supply are limited if not eliminated.

Are consumers happy about this? I don't think that most people have paid much attention to the changes in sourcing and it would be too bad if they didn't like it. These days for much of the year you have to accept that the berries will come from Mexico, Chile, Peru or elsewhere in Latin America, or have none at all.

What does "Made in the USA" really mean?

Stages Power Meter for Shimano Ultegra cranks
(Source: https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5047-314/Power-Meter---Shimano-Ultegra-6800-%28Gen-2%29) 

Stages Power Meter for Shimano Ultegra cranks (Detail)
(Source: https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5047-314/Power-Meter---Shimano-Ultegra-6800-%28Gen-2%29) 

So, where was this product made? The Shimano bicycle crank arm is designed and made in Japan and the power meter, attached to the side of the crank arm, is "Assembled in USA". The electronics inside are most likely made in China.

Like Apple, Stages probably does its research and development in the USA, and outsources the circuit board assembly to an Asian contract manufacturer using components from multiple countries.

The sort of multi-national supply chain is increasingly common. But in this era of uncertainty about the future of trade agreements how are products like this classified? There are content rules, but some American trade fundamentalists expect everything to be made in the USA. A pipe dream? Most likely, but that won't stop people from pushing for more domestic manufacturing.

For manufacturing to increase in the USA the obvious options are that either American workers will have to accept lower, Chinese-level, wages or American consumers will have to accept higher prices. And neither of those were planks in Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" platform.