My favorite question. Reality: the US imports 88% of its panels and less than 1% come from China — China makes components, but assembly happens elsewhere (and domestic content rules are pulling manufacturing to the US fast).
What actually matters: power (most panels are 400-500W now; higher wattage only matters with limited roof space), efficiency (18-23% — paying premium prices for 18% panels is what we call highway robbery), and longevity (the performance warranty: good = 86% output at 25 years; premium = 92%). Rough quality ladder: Maxeon > REC > Canadian > Silfab > Qcells > Panasonic > Jinko > Longi > Trina. Moving soon? Cheap panels fine. Forever home? REC or better. Best value balance? Silfab or Qcells — negligible performance difference, real savings.