Best Business Commentary

The “era of cheap Chinese consumer goods” may be at an end, says Alexandra Harney in Slate. If corporate executives wonder “why they are held in such low esteem,” says Steven Pearlstein in The Washington Post, they need to look no further than American Ai

A farewell to cheap Chinese goods

The “era of cheap Chinese consumer goods” may be at an end, says Alexandra Harney in Slate. For about 20 years, U.S. consumers have “benefited from an extraordinary confluence of factors,” including plentiful and cheap Chinese factory labor, an “undervalued” Chinese currency, and inexpensive raw materials. Well, no more. There is good news in this for Chinese workers, who are seeing better wages and working conditions. But it’s bad news for “American retailers and consumers hooked on $3 T-shirts,” because there’s “no other China waiting in the wings.” Other nations hold some promise, but all lack “China’s one-stop shop appeal.” So get ready to “pick up the tab.”

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