Chako,
Yes they are, and a lot of it. Walmart is inundated with Taylor produced knives they call "Schrade". Same with Camillus, but I don't know if Taylor makes those. But, the Chinese Camillus is junky as well. I have the "Titanium Series " MT and it is huge, but aside from a good set of pliars, the tools are tiny and poorly shaped.
I have several Taylor ST1s and two USA Tough Tools(one of which is going to a fellow MT.O user soon). The old ones are not very good compared to new MTs by USA and Swiss companies, but were fantastic when they came out. I have EDCed a USA tough tool before and it was adequate, since I carry a dedicated plain blade anyway.
The Taylor WimpTool would have been ok, except the handle splay is huge, while the USA toughtool is close and allows for a lot of purchase on what you are using it on. At some point I am going to modify a Taylor wimptool to have a closer splay and EDC it for a while and see what I think.
Also, if you get a Taylor wimptool, be sure to remove the screws and loctite them really well, because they snap off when they get loose and have torque applied.
I bought my three taylors st1s on clearance at a hardware store for about $10 or so apieve if I remember correctly. They DO BEAT OUT the normal $20 chinese tools in strength though. They did bother to use a decent steel for the entire tool. The scissors on the black paint version suck. I have the black one with green writing, which is the newest model I believe. The original OG toughtool has a great set of pliars, good screw drivers, a fantastic wood saw, a decent file, and ok can opener. The USA laminated pliars and the cutters on them are pretty much bullet proof. I cut about fifty pieces of coat hanger with the originals and the cutters looked like they did when I startes. The rivets can be tightened with a basic screw or bottle jack press. The pliar head can also be tightened that way. Also, the blades suck, and that goes for the original and taylor versions. Thin and poorly ground. Carry a dedicated blade with your ST1. IMHO