The alternative is to make smartphones that use components harvested from recycled devices, though doing so immediately means the devices might be dated, not as powerful, and potentially exposed to component-based security risks.
Magical people
Scientists, engineers, researchers, electronics experts, metallurgists, all of these skills are essential to the smartphone value chain. America just doesn’t have enough trained people to occupy all these roles. Sure, it’s possible you could replace some of the lower value skills with robots (made where?), but meeting that skill shortage is going to take a big commitment to education and training, or a focused approach to immigration, or both. And it will take years.
That’s going to cost, and because there is presently a shortage of these skills, you’ll find that salaries will be far higher in the US than elsewhere. The cost increases the magnitude of risk for manufacturers/suppliers, meaning they will raise prices for the components or assembly services they provide. I’m not sure, but I imagine that these costs, including assembly costs, are why the Liberty phone costs $2,000.
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