Many things are coming out of Taiwan now a days. That could be a good thing (lower cost, high import rate, etc) , or a bad thing (if its high quantity.. that also tends to result in lower quality- lower in terms of a slightly higher fail rate in comparison to a boutique frame builder in the US or Canada).
... $1200 bucks huhhhh, and something new. Well, there is always Ebay. I did see a Columbus steel framed frame on there, some seller was selling several units of, for like $250 per frame. Get your components + fork for $1000 ... then you're good to go.