I think it has a lot to do with perception/marketing. Is it not the case that Tokai and Ibanez started off their careers by making carbon copies of fenders and gibsons, down to the use of same font on the headstock? Except in many cases they were better than the real thing. Even today, Japanese produced Fenders are considered just as good as the US models, but you won't find them in American stores for that reason. Fender would much prefer to sell a higher priced US Standard.
Strats are a good example for other reasons - its a deliberate marketing strategy that the US models have a superior spec to the Mexican models. Lets not kid ourselves, it doesn't matter a jot where the factory is. Operating the machinery to knock together a good strat is hardly rocket science.
On acoustics, having played some high end Yamahas, I can assure you that for the money, they are just as good as the US factory made equivalents. They just don't have the same brand recognition as Martin/Taylor/Gibson. The fact that Taylor can be said in the same breath as Martin and Gibson speaks volumes for Taylor's immensly successful designs and production, but that would be nothing without an equally successful marketing strategy.
I absolutely agree with LJ that the far east has the lower end of the market pretty well sown up.
And when it comes to handbuilts, as has been rightly said, the world is your oyster. Fact of the matter is that you won't have come across most of the folk building in Europe, and its only forums like this that have alerted me to the US luthiers. Besides, why would a US resident want to incur huge exchange rate costs to buy from the UK (currently, £1 is about $1.92) when there are so many fine luthiers in the States?
Having said all that, I see nothing wrong in supporting the industry of your own country, nor feeling a special affinity for a guitar built near you.
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Neil
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