I can design a rod here and have it made in S. America if I want. I could then utilise a very naughty ploy of many of the big names , (especially stateside) and have the rod sent to me missing a rod tip which would be taped to the blank. Without the tip in place it cannot be used as a new fishing rod and the tip on its` own cannot be used as a new fishing rod (obviously). What I have in effect are two components of a fishing rod, niether of which are a fishing rod. Wee drop of glue and voila, I have joined the two components and "made" a fishing rod. That ploy was told to me many, many years ago byt the then owner of Penn Europe.
Not sure what all the hassle on Chinese is to be honest. I specialise in big game rods and mostly on "E" glass blanks. My preferred blanks are either from Pacbay or AT (same owned company). Been using these for close on 17 years, never a single failure, loved by the anglers, have caught some serious fish and way in advance of anything I could buy in Europe S. Africa, USA or UK. All clearly marked Made In China. Some of the best fly blanks currently on the go are also made in China. All come from a USA factory over there with their quality control and design.
Attached picture a wee tope type thing on a Chinese blank good few years ago.
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