The chinese goods cost 1 to produce, and are sold for 10 in the west -ask any industrial manager, but I shouldn't lay too far. Where are the nine other dollars landing? If we say 2 to 5 end in the pocket of the retailer, where do we find the remaining at least 5 bucks in the trade statistics?
By the way, this is why the argument that "oil only makes up 2% of the GDP (or whatever %)" is fallacious. After oil input has fed several layers of intermediaries, each of them making a modest profit, the economic impact of oil is not commensurate with its GDP impact. guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
Second, I don't know if you meant your comment on the "middleman" to be pejorative or not. But the traders, the distributors, the marketeers, the transportation, the Internet that gives more visibility to smaller and foreign producers, etc. etc. etc. are critical to these products arriving in the US and Europe. They are not production costs, but there are lots of real costs in there. True in the beginning there may be some nice profit margins, but soon other suppliers and other channels of distribution start competing, and prices and margins fall.
I also make a point about the effect that adding a layer of intermediaries has on the GDP. guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
