Well, I don't know about the 2000s but until 1997 local products where common, Switzerland had ASCOM phones for example. So I guess some cheaper countries had local products for longer.
I just came to the believe, that the smartphone market is really broken. If we want a new supplier, that isn't a china supported company, we will have to live with the struggle. Sure they could probably communicate better. But I guess they keep attention to not piss off any suppliers.
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Leather-Magnetic-Protective-Kickstand/dp/B08LNGV83V?th=1
This does NOT work. Too tall and the ports are just entirely wrong.