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In the early part of the 2000s they could produce the drywall here and sell it for about $6 a sheet or so. Now it is imported and costs about twice as much.

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ORIGINAL: MzMia
Maybe the powers that be, might consider manufacturing more drywall here in America, and having it closely regulated.
  Just another one of my crazy thoughts.

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ORIGINAL: AnimusRex

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ORIGINAL: MzMia
Maybe the powers that be, might consider manufacturing more drywall here in America, and having it closely regulated.
  Just another one of my crazy thoughts.

As Ricky Ricardo would say, "What are you crazy sompin?"

You see, the invisible hand of the marketplace will solve this, as it solves all of lifes' problems. Let me break it down for you:

Once the houses that have the contaminated drywall fall in price, they will be foreclosed upon;
The banks will process these toxic assets by demolishing them, writing down the losses, prompting a contraction of lending, widespread layoffs, and a few quarters of negative growth;
Thousands of families will be bankrupted, jobs will be lost; the adverse societal effects of broken families, divorces, and school dropouts will ripple through the nation;
All imports from China will be suspect; there will arise a cottage industry of private market inspectors and quality assurance firms, but since not all builders will use them, the level of risk within the building industry will add a few basis points to every construction loan, and be reflected in higher prices for houses, apartments, and offices.

Eventually society will accept that all products are at risk of toxic materials and this risk will be borne by the consumer;
The occasional explosion, where a batch of toxic materials turns up in our food, clothing, or consumer products; the occasional bout of poisonings from melamine in milk or lead in paint will be seen as just one of those things that cannot be avoided.
Consumers will react to this higher level of risk by being defensive- purchasing less, maintaining a higher level of savings to cover unexpected adverse results, depressing consumption, leading to lower economic growth permanently.

You see? Problem solved.

"The invisible hand is perfect; there is nothing I shall want." Repeat as often as necessary.

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Apparently someone forgot to tell Georgia Pacific, National Gypsum Company, American Gypsum Company, United States Gypsum, etc.. that they no longer can produce drywall in the US.

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The point isn't that the companies you site aren't manufacturing dry wall. The point and focus should be why aren't they manufacturing enough of it? Why can't they produce it at a cost that makes manufacture and import from China impractical in the first place?

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ORIGINAL: popeye1250

Anyone who buys something that says "Made In China" on it is just asking for it.
Would you want clothes next to your skin that say "Made in China" on them? There could be rat hairs in them for all you know.

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ORIGINAL: Mercnbeth

Manufacturing drywall produces 17% waste. The introduction in March 2005 of the Clean Air Interstate Rule by the United States Environmental Protection Agency requires power plants to "cut sulfur dioxide emissions by 73%" by 2018.[8] The Clean Air Interstate Rule also requested that the power plants install new scrubbers (industrial pollution control devices) to remove sulfur dioxide present in the output waste gas.

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ORIGINAL: popeye1250

Anyone who buys something that says "Made In China" on it is just asking for it.
Would you want clothes next to your skin that say "Made in China" on them? There could be rat hairs in them for all you know.