I just bought 5 lbs of 3/32" diameter E 7018 this morning. I asked the welding supply for the smallest package of E 7018, 3/32" dia. I was handed a 5 lb plastic wrapped/vacuum sealed box of electrode. Not seeing any familiar label, I took a look at whose electrode I was getting. It turns out to made by OKI in the USA. I hadn't bought any electrode for home in awhile, so was a little surprised when the tab came to fifteen dollars.
Foreign made steel and electrode in the USA is nothing new. It is unfortunately, more the rule than the exception. As early as 1973, we were seeing E 7018 arrive on nuke jobsites, all paperwork in order, made by Hobart- in FRANCE.
On jobs at the powerplants, we are quite strict about whose electrode and wire we buy. Thus far, we seem to have avoided getting foreign-made stuff. That is a whole 'nother ball game and we cannot afford to take a chance on unknown electrode or wire represented as meeting AWS or ASTM standards. We pay handsomely for the assurance that the welding filler metals and fluxes are what they are supposed to be.
Structural steel and pipe sold in the USA for the past few years are a mixed bag. The stuff comes in from all over the globe. I made it a rule to spec "US Made" on pipe, valves, fittings and structural steel and hope the vendors can meet that requirement. Sometimes, they can't. I request mill test reports and heat numbers, and if the vendors can't cough them up, it's "no sale". I wouldn't expect welding filler metals to be any different nowadays. If you were on a critical job, like structural or pressure vessel work and had to use foreign made welding filler metals, you'd be requesting documentation and it would tie to the specific lot of electrode or filler wire you received on the job.
If you are buying electrode or filler metal made to AWS (American Welding Society) specs, you would think you were getting some assurance of a good product. E 7018 is an AWS designation. Admittedly, the electrode you bought comes from some foreign country (Turkey) but (in theory) has to meet certain specs and lab and mill tests to confirm as much.
No offense, but the reality is that you are buying a small quantity of electrode from a place that doesn;t make a habit of furnishing welding filler metals to jobs where specifications and quality control even exist. It is unlikely that Charlie's Farm and Home Supply ever sold electrode to be used on any kind of job where there was any sort of requirments and specifications for welding procedures and filler metals. The only requirement Charlie likely ever heard about was that the rod run in some guy's buzz box or that the rod be able to be run on scabby, beat up steel being repaired on some guy's farm. If Charlie were selling rod to be used on structural, piping or pressure vessel work, it would be a whole 'nother ball game. The Turkish electrode might still be there, but at a higher price due to quality assurance requirements and testing requirements.
Seeing E 7018 on the electrode is a start to insure you have some idea of what the rod is. Turkey is a fairly industrialized nation, and we see some Turkish steel and pipe come on the jobs with proper paperwork. I'd imagine stick electrode from Turkey is probably OK. The simple proof is in how the stuff runs when you start burning it. I suppose if you were really curious, you could do your own simple testing. You could weld up a sample tee out of a couple of pieces of plate, with a fillet weld on one side only. Try to break it with a sledge hammer and see how it bends vs. fractures, and what the fracture looks like.