Manufacturing country as a selling point

I have a friend who is a violin maker in St. Louis, MO. He claims
that violins made in Italy, no matter how poor the quality, always
sell at a premium over violins of better quality from France,
Germany, and the USA. He was at a loss to explain why other than
Stradavarius and a few other famous makers came from Italy and
therefore people preceive Italian violins will always be better
instraments even though the maker an amateur at best.

Can the country where a product is manufactured be used as a selling
point for the product? And if so, would an importer opt for the
favorably preceived country to have his product made vs the country
that is importing the most, or making the better quality product?

For example, if all things are the same in design and quality, would
a glass paperwieght from Germany sell better than the same glass
paperweight from China?

Thanks,
Anthony

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