How important is "Made in USA" to you?

Most of my hand tools for work are American. Pipe wrenches, vise, torches etc.
Smaller less expensive tools like levels, or screwdrivers don’t matter as long as they decently built.

I'm not so pro USA made so much as friendly to USA. Any country with a high standard of living and environmental regulations is good with me.
I actively avoid Chinese made, even if that means paying more.

I try to purchase as domestic as possible. Difficult and more costly but it's a preference that i don't mind spending the extra money on.

I buy what is spoon fed to me. Most of the time I don't have a choice if it is American made or not. Most of the time the American brand is not made in America.

I try to buy from USA, but it's getting more difficult to do.

What pisses me off is you will see a big ol USA emblem and if you look closely it says "Distributed from PA, USA".
Then you have to look real hard on where it is made. Sometimes it's not there and you havta Google it. I do this a lot for Dog food, treats etc as I don't like feeding my dogs crap from China.

It’s gone in waves for me as everything has foreign materials / parts in it these days. Look at the delays the Auto industry has suffered waiting for computer chips overseas, etc.

If it’s made well, I’ll usually pay less for the non-American made. CruzTOOLS for example(assembled in US). Great feeling (material/“heavy”) 8mm,10mm,12mm all in one T-handle. It’s my go-to if space / the job permits. If not, I grab for the 1/4inch Motion Pro socket T handle that can reach in places the Cruz couldn’t. But, back to back, you know which tool feels better, has better quality, and costs more.





Every time I pick up a wrench, socket, ratchet out of my Craftsman set, I get the feeling of how a tool should be made. I haven’t stepped up to Snap-On or Matco yet, because this Craftsman set just keeps delivering. My Best Man and another good friend in my wedding party went in on this set as a wedding gift for me 24 years ago. Still have every piece and only had to replace the 3/8 inch ratchet (free replacement) 10 years ago.




What does it all mean? The older you get you realize more and more you get what you pay for. And (in the long run) it saves you money, frustration, and helps get the job done better.

I just try to buy what is the best for what I can afford, and that's typically Japanese or American

I try to avoid Chinese knock off junk. Nothing political, it's just usually shit

Just paid a bit more for a windshield: $400 v. $280 for an American Made OEM (versus China) windshield for a Ford Transit.
Is it better?
Don’t know for sure; but, the stock windshields are pretty damn quiet & I wasn’t going to “experiment” with a Chinese knock-off (it’s a huge windshield/noise matters).

They're masters at packaging, but comes with a buzz-kill. The toys I tried to get "freed" (out of the box) over the years!!

Our daughters couldn't wait to play with the latest plastic fad toy, but the packaging department would have them waiting and waiting (by design in my opinion...that's how jaded I got)....

Finally learned to let the girls know, "Oh this is nice, it's going to take a while, let me take this into the garage" Then I'd hack that box / packaging up with some American tools and come back in the house like I was Santa Claus. Gift freed and time for some Eggnog.

We’ve ruined our own standard of living, or let retailers ruin our standard of living. By being cheap, most only look at what costs the least.

I’m just as guilty.

We try to buy the best quality here domestically. My wife gets a huge box of Shein, mostly lingerie from China regularly. The quality is surprisingly good and the same 5$ outfit could be $60 here. Her and her friends are addicted to it. I don't complain.
https://youtu.be/Hmwu5oxm-XI