USA vs. U.S.A. whats the difference

[chad pickens]

I had a friend tell me that if a product said made in USA it didnt neccessarily mean america. It has to say made in U.S.A.. He says that there is a USA japan or china or something. As in usa is the name of the state or city.Is there any truth to this ?

[Uncle Buck]

I had a friend tell me that if a product said made in USA it didnt neccessarily mean america. It has to say made in U.S.A.. He says that there is a USA japan or china or something. As in usa is the name of the state or city.Is there any truth to this ?

True, years ago that was very true on tools, I have no idea if it still hold water or not! (USA, as in the Jap island of USA! (true):wtf:

Perhaps I should qualify my answer, my pop told me the exact same thing thirty years or so ago and I have heard and read the same from other sources which confirmed his story, so I have taken it as gospel all these years.

[chad pickens]

I guess I owe him an apoligee than oops :eek2:

[64merc]

I don't know, maybe I'm not old enough, but that's not a problem that I was aware of.

[Northstar9126]

I was told years ago that after WWII Japan was exporting merchandise to the U.S.A. that was marked "Made in USA". I was told that "USA" was a made up place that the Japanese came up with to pull one over on Americans, reason being lingering hostile feelings after the war in the states and Japans reputation at the time for producing inferior products.

[MXtras]

Typically, the stuff made in Japan that makes it over here is superior to the stuff made in the U.S.A. though, so looking for it to be made in the USA or the U.S.A. would be a win either way.

Scott

[goodfellow]

I was told years ago that after WWII Japan was exporting merchandise to the U.S.A. that was marked "Made in USA". I was told that "USA" was a made up place that the Japanese came up with to pull one over on Americans, reason being lingering hostile feelings after the war in the states and Japans reputation at the time for producing inferior products.

In many respects we are still getting the shaft, but this time from our own government. The "Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Island" is officially part of the United States of America. Through agreement with the US government, anything manufactured on these islands can claim "Made in the USA". Problem is, most of the companies that manufacture there are Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, etc. who manufacture garments for some of the biggest labels in the US. Profits and most taxes don't go into American coffers because these islands have lobbied heavily for special tax status.

By all estimates 60% of the islands population is made up of foreign contract workers (mostly foreign female sweat shop labor that is isolated in dorms and compounds). The local government is elected, but corruption is high and most industry is controlled by political bosses who have underworld connections in Asia and America.

That is what the term "Made in the USA" has come to over the last 30 years. Our politicians need to be held accountable for "selling" America down the drain.

[Mike83]

Typically, the stuff made in Japan that makes it over here is superior to the stuff made in the U.S.A. though, so looking for it to be made in the USA or the U.S.A. would be a win either way.

Scott

I think that many people who purchase something want it to be made in America by American workers. Quality is not my only goal when buying a tool made in the U.S.A.; I want to keep my money here and support U.S. industry. :thumbup:

[Tscott]

The USA Story is a fake. Check Snopes.com. However the stuff about Malaysia is true.

Tom

[MXtras]

I think that many people who purchase something want it to be made in America by American workers. Quality is not my only goal when buying a tool made in the U.S.A.; I want to keep my money here and support U.S. industry. :thumbup:

Oh - I hear ya and I feel the same way.

I pride myself on manufacturing all of my products from 100% American components and labor. Even the hardware in my products is purchased from domestic suppliers and that is a difficult task, believe it or not. It's hard to find distributors that buy from domestic sources anymore. Most of them do not even know what they are selling!

Scott

[johnny1290]

Typically, the stuff made in Japan that makes it over here is superior to the stuff made in the U.S.A. though, so looking for it to be made in the USA or the U.S.A. would be a win either way.

Scott

It wasn't always that way. As mentioned in the snopes article, made in Japan used to be synonomous with cheap, shoddy goods.

[Elroy]

Typically, the stuff made in Japan that makes it over here is superior to the stuff made in the (States)

Obviously our good friend Scott has never seen any early 1950 Japanese tools. Elroy's father served on the Ernest G. Small during the Korean "police action". He brought back a few small tools from Japan and Elroy can assure you they are a true POS.

Your statement currently applies but 60 years ago their stuff was the worse of the worse.

[Elroy]

Double post

[Chris Adams]

Typically, the stuff made in Japan that makes it over here is superior to the stuff made in the U.S.A. though, so looking for it to be made in the USA or the U.S.A. would be a win either way.

Scott

Ouch, you make me feel very old...:(
Jap stuff before they adopted the teachings of Dr. Deming was anything from mediocre to plain awful.
Older Nippon tools are often cheap sand castings, not even good castings, certainly not forged. By the mid 70's they were making great stuff, by the 80's it was on par with best of Euro stuff.
However, that older stuff was terrible.

Not their fault expect for some cultural factors. Losing a war does that to a country.
But they are not too proud to learn.
Scary people, but like the Germans (also very scary) you have to respect them.

[MXtras]

No doubt. The older Japanese stuff was crap - not that I was around in the 50's.

This is a good point, though. 30 years ago their stuff sucked and now their products rival the best - measuring tools, machines, optics, automobiles, electronics.

What are Chinese products going to look like in 30 years or less?

Scott