Interested for you to elaborate on why you think that is. Personally, I think it’s because we’re a high-income country and companies would prefer to do it in lower income countries so they can make more money.

Part of this had also come from globalisation and the removal of many tarrifs that once existed.

The tarrif question is tricky though, because in the short-term, it makes everything more expensive if they’re just applied immediately all at once, and in the long-term, other countries will apply retaliatory tarrifs, making our exports less competitive.

I’m not claiming to have all the answers, but it seems clear that the “free market” isn’t gonna solve this problem, some government intervention seems necessary (tarrifs, for example, are imposed by governments).

Investment into high tech manufacturing could also be an option, but again, it’s sure as hell not going to come from the private sector who won’t see immediate and excess profits from that endeavour.

Anyway, keen to hear why you think “government” is the reason we’re no longer manufacturing much here.