How to exit the "low-cost" economy?

What we call a "low-cost" economy is a situation where consumer demand for low prices leads to significant offshoring to emerging countries with low labour costs and to downward pressure on low-skilled wages. The "low-cost" economy is obviously criticised, given the manufacturing job losses and the weak purchasing power of the low-skilled. But how can countries get out of it? We see only two possible solutions: Either accept higher prices; Or use a combination of automation and skill enhancement, which makes it possible to reshore and reduce low-skilled employment through automation, and to avoid price increases through productivity gains and a rise in unemployment through skill enhancement.