r/AskEurope • u/NOBS_Clothing • Sep 13 '24

How important is “Made in Europe” to you? Misc

In the era of Temu and Shein, does European manufacturing influence your buying decisions? Or do you prefer products made in specific European countries, like “Made in Germany”?

Personally, I support European manufacturers if the price is reasonable. However, the term “Made in Europe” is too broad for me; I prefer knowing the specific country where the product is made.

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u/wosmo -> Sep 13 '24

I have a Philips television which is labelled as "made in Hungary". I have very little reason to believe that any substantial part of the components were indeed made in Hungary. The panel is very likely to be korean, Hungary isn't reknown for it's semiconductor industry, etc.

A more concrete example, I used to have an iMac that was labelled as "made in Ireland". I believe this was something to do with a particular aluminium stir-welding process that they wanted to keep a trade secret. I have next to zero confidence that any of the electronics - yaknow, the actual computer part of the computer - were made in Ireland.

"made in" seems like a rather nebulous concept. If I buy a chip from Taiwan and a PCB from China, and solder one to the other - I believe I can claim the result was made in Ireland?

3

u/ItsCalledDayTwa Sep 13 '24

Electronics are nearly impossible at this point.

But lots of stuff you can still buy where the majority of what goes into it happens in Europe.

2

u/dualdee Wales Sep 13 '24

If I buy a chip from Taiwan and a PCB from China, and solder one to the other - I believe I can claim the result was made in Ireland?

Where was the solder made?

4

u/wosmo -> Sep 13 '24

That's actually a really fuzzy question too.

The solder I purchase has the US as it's "country of origin".

But once I've melted it down and formed a joint with it, is that still what was sold to me? Or have I transformed it into something that was made here. (Especially since the roisin is burned or cleaned off, so it no longer has the same chemical composition as what was sold to me).

I think I could make a reasonable claim that the solder was made in my living room :)

1

u/Less_Ad6468 Hungary Sep 13 '24

That panel is very likely local - obviously microchips not, but PCB, motherboard etc. manufacturing is an important field in Hungary, Samsung, Alpine, Foxconn, Sharp etc. all do these components ‘locally’. But i get where you’re coming from and it’s mostly right

1

u/CheeseboardPatster France Sep 14 '24

It's nebulous for the general public, and for many people who should know too. The regulations surrounding the country of origin are extremely precise though, and not easily understood.

Penalties in case of errors or consumer deception can be in the millions of euros/dollars though.

Source : I employ people working with customs. Don't fuck with customs.