Made in a series of places

John McCain got in trouble in some circles for saying that the iPhone is “built in the USA.” Leo Gerard corrected him by saying “the iPad and the iPhone are made in China, they’re not made in America.”

In a world of vertical specialization, what does “made in” mean? The product itself is pretty clear on the issue: “Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China.”

Designed by Apple in California Assembled in China

[Photo by Chen Zhao]

Apple fails to mention that they’re assembling components manufactured in Taiwan, but you can forgive them for that. Maybe labels should just default to “Made in a series of places.”

Previous editions:

Are iPhones “made in China”? Measuring value added in trade flows
Globalization & iPods

3 thoughts on “Made in a series of places”

  1. Pingback: “Made in the world” « Trade Diversion

  2. Clint Duskin

    Where is the item that says “Made in HAS” made? I can not find the country of origin.

  3. Pingback: Made in a series of places « Trade Diversion

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