I was a mechanical engineer before I decided to quit and join my displaced mid west family farm operation. People don't understand the never ending battle between engineering, manufacturing, and the bean counters. I guarantee you the reason they have a chinese harness is because of the bean counters. They will sacrifice quality to save pennies on a high volume part. It sucks, but it's the reality of the world we live in.
Supply Chain in Polaris Global Adjacent Markets makes the sourcing decisions. Purchasing agents make the call based on product spec and vendor certification - the way it works in all high volume OEM operations, all following the US OEM automotive model. And as some of you know, 3PL purchasing agents can be outsourced, and may not be employees. The real world is push and pull, and while engineers can build an ultimate sled, few can afford it - how many sleds did CMX ever make, or make now? Wasn't long ago we put $25k US into a sled that would get crushed by stockers today. Light, strong, and cheap, pick any two.