Apple made-in-China issue surfaces at presidential debate

Apple made-in-China issue surfaces at presidential debate
In the waning moments of the second presidential debate, CNN moderator Candy Crowley asked how Apple could bring manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Crowley prefaced the question by saying that Apple makes the iPhone and iPad in China.Then asked how to get a company like Apple to make more products in the U.S., citing the iPhone and iPad as products made by Apple exclusively in China. Mitt Romney was the first to respond. "First, we'll have to have [China] play on a fair basis...Second, we have to make America the most attractive place for entrepreneurs, people who want to expand a business, that's what brings jobs in." Then Crowley interjected, saying the U.S. can't pay the low wages that Chinese workers get and President Obama responded to that comment.Related storiesLenovo: Making it in the U.S.A. (Q&A)"There are some jobs that are not going to come back.Because they're low-wage, low-skilled jobs.I want high-wage, high-skill jobs."Obama continued. "That's why we have to emphasize manufacturing. That's why we have to invest in advanced manufacturing. That's why we have to make sure we have the best science and research in the world." Then Obama's point veered off a bit to the government investment that's necessary to "create the next Apple, the next new innovation." As a footnote, Lenovo, China's largest PC maker, said last week that it will assemble tablets, laptops, and desktops in North Carolina.So, creating high-tech-device product-assembly jobs in the U.S. is, apparently, not impossible.