On a daily basis, we pick up a device that has written on the back: "Designed in California." These are not a few words, but the lament of an era. A reality that does not come out with its full truth. The iPhone's bright screen, lightning-fast processor, long-lasting battery and beautiful exterior design, all grow in the lap of China, but the crown is placed on the head of America. America only weaves dreams, although the work of interpretation is in the hands of China. This story is not limited to the iPhone. Your laptop, shoes, shirt, car, and even every other daily-use item, which seems to be from Europe or America, is actually manufactured on Chinese soil. The deluded dreams of developed nations are now seeing moments of awakening. The tariff war has crashed those dreams against the solid rock of reality. The curtain has been lifted, and a world of nakedness has emerged.
This war is not a trade dispute between two countries, it is actually the funeral of the deception that the West has been putting before the world for decades. The world was led to believe that the economies of the West are self-sufficient, their factories operate on their own soil, and their development depends on their own intelligence. But when Trump unleashed the tariff, the West’s face was exposed. The story of Apple seems to be a symbol of this entire scenario. When Apple entered China in the 1990s, it was only making a few parts with the help of small suppliers. Then times changed, the 1997 recession shook Apple, but China held its hand, and in 2001 Apple opened its first office in Shanghai. Then the partnership with Foxconn made China the backbone of Apple's production. The iPod, the iMac and then the iPhone, everything began to be made in China. Today, 150 of Apple's 187 suppliers are located in China alone. It is as if Apple's living existence is linked to China. A dependence that is both a strength and a weakness. When Covid came and China locked itself down, Apple's breath stopped. This story is not limited to Apple. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, they all owe this talisman to China. The question is, is this the case in China? The answer is simple, but the impact is profound: a cheap but well-trained workforce, excellent infrastructure, discipline and a strong system of government support. China, where work is not just work but also worship, where production is a passion and development is a collective dream.
President Trump, in accordance with his political nature, was probably in a dream of arrogance when he raised the sword of tariffs. Tariffs of up to 245 percent, as if a torture, the resonance of which was not limited to China. The world was shaken. Although Apple has definitely received temporary relief for now, Trump warned that this peace is temporary. Now the sword is also shaking the neck of semiconductors. This fight is not only with China, but with the Western deception, which considered itself the world's production machine. The reality is something else. The economies of America and Europe are no longer manufacturing, but service-based. Finance, education, and technology are their center, while the production centers have long since moved to China. This transfer is not a sign of progress, but of borrowing. When factories moved to China, jobs also went with them. Warehouses in America and Europe emptied while Chinese cities filled with factories. China recognized the pulse of the times and skillfully made itself the factory of the world. The factory where everything is produced, both what you can think of and what you cannot think of. But this war was not easy for China either. China retaliated and imposed 125 tariffs on the United States. It used rare minerals, which China has a monopoly on, as a weapon. It is as if this war has become not only economic, but also mineral.
Now the world is surprised, worried about what is the way out of this quagmire? Apple, Samsung and Google are all now looking to Vietnam, India and Indonesia. But it is not easy to find a replacement for China. The costs are high and the quality is low in the new countries. Meanwhile, the sword of American tariffs is also hanging over Vietnam. The United States has talked about bringing back manufacturing. But talking is one thing, setting up factories is another. The US Commerce Secretary's dream of "millions of workers making iPhones" appears to be a mere illusion in the real world. Eli Friedman, who was an Apple consultant, says bluntly: "This is a dream, not a reality."
The world is changing. The magic of supply chains is breaking down. New trading hubs are emerging, but no one has the advantage like China. China has transformed the productive skills, discipline, and collective strength of a nation into a commodity. The question is, what will the future hold? Perhaps the world will now move towards a fairer trading system, perhaps adopt a policy of “less dependence and more diversification,” but this will require mutual cooperation. Trump’s tariff war has shown a mirror, in which the self-proclaimed developed face of America and Europe itself is visible, which is now weak, needy, and exposed. This war is a lesson and also a question: will we learn? Will we reform? And will we truly be able to become self-sufficient? This path is certainly difficult, but not impossible. If the world moves away from the concept of “you make, we sell” to “we make together, we share together,” then this global village can become a reality. A world that is not just a center of trade, but a manifestation of justice. May the paths of progress be for all, and the veil of illusion be torn away forever. This is the truth, this is the destination, this is the dream. Otherwise, the expensive intoxication of tariffs has proven to be temporary.
