This concept of lack of locally avalible electronic components is nothing new at all, and has almost nothing to do with China and change of where components are manufactured. I first got interested in electronics in the late 1950s, mostly from reading construction projects in magaizines like Popular Science, Mechanics illastrated, and later popular electronics, amoung others. While I lived in the San Francisco bay area, I was still greater the 20 miles from a major city that might have a store that would carry basic components needed for even simple projects, so basically unavailable source for a 10 year old. Sometimes I found a local TV repair shop that would sell me basic resistors or caps, but that wasn't the business they were in and I think they were just trying to encourage my interest in the subject rather then seeing me as a customer. Anyway I found that mail order catalogs were my best avenue to obtaining the components I needed to do some projects, from such outlets as Allied Radio, Lafayette electronics, etc. But more importantly I found that just studying those catalogs listings I could learn a lot about electronics, the components, their specifications, etc. So mail order to me was more then just where I could get stuff, but also a part of my self education in electronic, which was a big help to this 10 year old that had no friends or family members that shared or knew anything about electronics.
It's my opinion that there has never been a better time to be a electronic hobbyist as the present in the way of availability of components, information about electronics, and obtaining help for problems or just learning the art and science of electronics.
Politics and the global market has little to do with an individual's interest in electronics and what he/she can accomplish in this field if they set their mind to it.
My whole life adult life employed in the electronics field was much like most pro baseball players might feel, "I can't believe they are paying me to play this game I would play for free". 
Lefty