Why Apple Can’t Make iPhones in U.S.: “Small Hands” of Chinese Workers, New York Times Claims

“Young Chinese women have small fingers,” newspaper says

iPhones for sale at an Apple retail store in a mall in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Under the print headline “A ‘Made in America’ iPhone? ‘Absurd.’ Experts Explain Why,” the New York Times tries to convince readers that American workers are physically incapable of making iPhones. President Trump has been pressing Apple to move manufacturing of the devices to America.

From the Times article, which is by a San Francisco-based reported named Tripp Mickle:

What does China offer that the United States doesn’t?

Small hands, a massive, seasonal work force and millions of engineers.

Young Chinese women have small fingers, and that has made them a valuable contributor to iPhone production because they are more nimble at installing screws and other miniature parts in the small device, supply chain experts said. In a recent analysis the company did to explore the feasibility of moving production to the United States, the company determined that it couldn’t find people with those skills in the United States, said two people familiar with the analysis who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Better journalism would be more skeptical of the claim that it’s the finger-size of the workers that is the determining factor here. Here is one thing China offers that the United States doesn’t that is entirely overlooked in the Times article: