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Seven tech trends that will destroy globalization

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This post was also published in CNBC. Over the past few decades, globalization has bound countries together into a global supply chain encompassing finished products, parts, agricultural products, food products and energy. But a commingling of seven well-known tech trends will soon make it inconceivable to manufacture a product in China , ship it 7,000 miles to Long Beach, and then truck it 700 miles to Salt Lake City to be placed onto a Walmart shelf. With projected continual improvement in each of these seven tech trends, a large majority of global trade could cease very shortly. 1. Automated manufacturing A fundamental basis of outsourcing manufacturing is that decreased labor costs outweigh the shipping cost. But thanks to more automated assembly lines, we are very close to the tipping point in employee productivity where the shipping cost will outweigh the labor savings of offshore manufacturing. It's not a coincidence that multinational companies are suddenl