So the US manufacturer of those yellow "Support Our Troops" ribbon magnets was on C-SPAN this morning, talking about how, apparently, the Chinese have recently started manufacturing them, and undercutting the US maker.

Magnet America sells the yellow ribbon magnets that millions of US drivers display on their cars to signal support for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the magnetic ribbons have become so popular that Chinese manufacturers have started mass-producing them for a fraction of the price charged by Magnet's US supplier.

The company, which refuses to shift production offshore, has seen sales shrink by 65 per cent in the past four months, forcing it to lay off half its 40-strong workforce.

"We were contacted by a Chinese firm that could cut our costs by up to 70 per cent but we will always keep our manufacturing in America," says Dwain Gullion, Magnet America's founder.

Irony!