John and All,
I work with such a loyal and specialized crew of Koreans and Chinese in China. One observer at our facility said, "They can make your trains with their eye's closed..." I've known them personally for 15 years now. We've gone through a lot of improvements and changes together to get our product just right. To move that to another country would be like starting over. Even with 25% tariffs, I think it would end up costing more to get the same detail and quality.
I've got lots of stories about my experience making models in the Philippines with Koreans. It started out good, then fell apart. There were no subcontractors there. Everything from decals, paint to screws and washers had to be imported. There was corruption, worker problems not to mention Typhoons, floods, Earthquakes and Dengue Fever. The 2nd project had to be shipped back to China to be finished. The factory just fell apart in the Philippines. I was lucky to get what I got.
Well today the Yuan crossed 7.05 to the USD. Exactly what we thought it would do. If more Tariffs are levied it will move even more.
If you want any further discussion off the forum, feel free to email me.
