sounds like they are going to move production from california to taiwan or the philippines, to avoid getting tariffed on the individual parts they import currently from china to assemble the lights
correct and the fib in the original articles when he said that he was paying duty on components (true) where as lights(in a manner that made it seem his entire product line was affected) fully manufactured in China by his competitors come in duty free (the partial fib)
Interesting enough, instead of sourcing the components elsewhere and still doing assembly in the US they would rather move assembly and still source the parts from China, they just want the parts duty free.
I would be very curious what % of the components in the assembly are made in the US to qualify to be called "made in the US" or if it is like FAR, FAR too much "made in US" gear in diving that is not at all meeting the legal requirements.
From the FTC
"
THE STANDARD FOR UNQUALIFIED MADE IN USA CLAIMS
What is the standard for a product to be called Made in USA without qualification?
For a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be "all or virtually all" made in the U.S. The term "United States," as referred to in the Enforcement Policy Statement, includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and possessions.
What does "all or virtually all" mean?
"All or virtually all" means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.
What substantiation is required for a Made in USA claim?
When a manufacturer or marketer makes an unqualified claim that a product is Made in USA, it should have — and rely on — a "reasonable basis" to support the claim at the time it is made. This means a manufacturer or marketer needs competent and reliable evidence to back up the claim that its product is "all or virtually all" made in the U.S."
Complying with the Made in USA Standard
Then there is this interesting article... where designed and assembled is said
How Light & Motion Builds Their Bike Lights in the USA -
Then there is this article, which means either this article, or the one regarding the tariffs forcing them offshore is a stretching it fib or outright lie regards meeting "made in USA" laws. Just saying
Factory Visit: Light And Motion – Lighting Systems “Made In USA” – eMTB-News.de
That all said, this article actually lays the issue out better, it is NOT that all flashlights are duty free, it is ONLY Bike lights that are proposed to move to duty free in the name of safety.
Collateral damage? Tariffs force Light & Motion to move light production to the Philippines
Regardless, something isn't adding up.