INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Pollution Control: China's booming economy has made it the world's biggest polluter. So why is it exempt from Kyoto, and why are the greenies so silent? Should we stop buying Chinese goods to fight global warming?
read::: INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY editorial
Friday, June 29, 2007
Boeing Awards China Firms $500 Mln Supply Contracts
Boeing Co. said on Friday it had awarded commercial airplane parts and components supply contracts worth $500 million to Chinese firms, including Hafei Aviation Industry Co. Supply contracts, including for parts for the jumbo 747-8 aircraft, were also agreed with subsidiaries of state-owned Chinese aircraft makers AVIC I and AVIC II. Both Boeing and its European rival, Airbus, have awarded sizeable parts contracts to Chinese manufacturers while also seeking to secure aircraft orders in the nation's fast-growing aviation sector.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
FOXNEWS: Possibly Tainted Fish From China Detained by FDA for Inspection
WASHINGTON — Imports of five species of farmed Chinese seafood will be detained until they can be shown free of potentially dangerous antibiotics, U.S. government health officials said Thursday.
The Food and Drug Administration said it would detain the catfish, basa, shrimp, dace and eel after repeated testing has turned up contamination with drugs unapproved in the United States for use in farmed seafood.
The announcement was only the latest in an expanding series of problems with imported Chinese products that seemingly permeate U.S. society, from its playrooms to its prisons.
Beyond the fish, federal regulators have warned consumers in recent weeks about lead paint in toy trains, defective tires and toothpaste made with diethylene glycol, a toxic ingredient more commonly found in antifreeze. All the products were imported from China.
FoxNews story
The Food and Drug Administration said it would detain the catfish, basa, shrimp, dace and eel after repeated testing has turned up contamination with drugs unapproved in the United States for use in farmed seafood.
The announcement was only the latest in an expanding series of problems with imported Chinese products that seemingly permeate U.S. society, from its playrooms to its prisons.
Beyond the fish, federal regulators have warned consumers in recent weeks about lead paint in toy trains, defective tires and toothpaste made with diethylene glycol, a toxic ingredient more commonly found in antifreeze. All the products were imported from China.
FoxNews story
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
China shuts 180 food factories for using illegal chemicals
BEIJING, China (AP) -- China has closed 180 food factories after inspectors found industrial chemicals being used in products from candy to seafood, state media said Wednesday.
The closures came amid a nationwide crackdown on shoddy and dangerous products launched in December that also uncovered use of recycled or expired food, the China Daily said.
Formaldehyde, illegal dyes, and industrial wax were found being used to make candy, pickles, crackers and seafood, it said, citing Han Yi, an official with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which is responsible for food safety.
"These are not isolated cases," Han, director of the administration's quality control and inspection department, was quoted as saying.
CNN
The closures came amid a nationwide crackdown on shoddy and dangerous products launched in December that also uncovered use of recycled or expired food, the China Daily said.
Formaldehyde, illegal dyes, and industrial wax were found being used to make candy, pickles, crackers and seafood, it said, citing Han Yi, an official with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which is responsible for food safety.
"These are not isolated cases," Han, director of the administration's quality control and inspection department, was quoted as saying.
CNN
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
WSJ: Accident Raises Safety Concerns On Chinese Tires
A fatal auto accident in Pennsylvania has stirred concerns about another potentially hazardous Chinese product in wide use in the U.S.: tires.
About 450,000 Chinese-made tires sold in the U.S. -- and possibly many more -- may lack an important safety feature, according to federal regulators and the U.S. distributor that helped design them. But the task of identifying who bought the defective tires and getting them off the road has been complicated by litigation and holes in the nation's product-recall system.
The tire defect comes in the wake of several other high-profile safety problems involving Chinese products, including the discovery of lead paint on children's toys and hazardous materials in Chinese-made toothpaste and in wheat gluten used in pet food.
"As imports grow -- and China is the largest exporter to the U.S. -- it's essential" that all manufacturers comply with U.S. safety regulations, said Daniel Zielinski, a spokesman for the Rubber Manufacturers Association, the tire industry's main trade group.
The tires in question were distributed by Foreign Tire Sales Inc. of Union, N.J., and sold under the brand names Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS in a range of sizes used on sport-utility vehicles, pickups and other light trucks. All were sold as replacement tires and not as original equipment on new vehicles.
FTS said an unknown portion of the tires either lacked a safety feature designed to make them more durable or had it in an insufficient degree. The company, which said it doesn't have the money to pay for a recall, estimates the defect could be present in as many as 450,000 tires imported from China's Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. since 2002. It said it believes other U.S. distributors have been selling virtually identical tires, which could account for as many as an additional half-million tires.
Wall Street Journal
related -
CBS News::: Feds Order At Least 4 Tire Brands Recalled
Consumeraffairs.com::: Feds Recall Chinese Tires Blamed for Fatal Van Accident
About 450,000 Chinese-made tires sold in the U.S. -- and possibly many more -- may lack an important safety feature, according to federal regulators and the U.S. distributor that helped design them. But the task of identifying who bought the defective tires and getting them off the road has been complicated by litigation and holes in the nation's product-recall system.
The tire defect comes in the wake of several other high-profile safety problems involving Chinese products, including the discovery of lead paint on children's toys and hazardous materials in Chinese-made toothpaste and in wheat gluten used in pet food.
"As imports grow -- and China is the largest exporter to the U.S. -- it's essential" that all manufacturers comply with U.S. safety regulations, said Daniel Zielinski, a spokesman for the Rubber Manufacturers Association, the tire industry's main trade group.
The tires in question were distributed by Foreign Tire Sales Inc. of Union, N.J., and sold under the brand names Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS in a range of sizes used on sport-utility vehicles, pickups and other light trucks. All were sold as replacement tires and not as original equipment on new vehicles.
FTS said an unknown portion of the tires either lacked a safety feature designed to make them more durable or had it in an insufficient degree. The company, which said it doesn't have the money to pay for a recall, estimates the defect could be present in as many as 450,000 tires imported from China's Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. since 2002. It said it believes other U.S. distributors have been selling virtually identical tires, which could account for as many as an additional half-million tires.
Wall Street Journal
related -
CBS News::: Feds Order At Least 4 Tire Brands Recalled
Consumeraffairs.com::: Feds Recall Chinese Tires Blamed for Fatal Van Accident
Monday, June 25, 2007
West told to stop blaming China for pollution
China Pollution, Beijing
Singapore, June 25 : Western countries were urged Monday to stop the China blame game and work with developing nations to fix global warming problems, said business and government leaders at the World Economic Forum on East Asia meeting in Singapore.
Singling out China is pointless, said Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Malaysia's second minister of finance. "It's wrong. There should not be hypocrisy," he added.
full article::: newkerala.com
Related -
NY Post::: CHINA: WORLD'S POLLUTER-AMA
Today's THV::: China Tops World In CO2 Emissions
Council on Foreign Relations::: China’s Environmental Crisis
Sunday, June 24, 2007
U.S. Apple Growers Brace for Expected Competition from China
(GETTYSBURG, PA) -- Farmers have been growing apples here since before the Civil War, and as times have changed they have changed with them, planting smaller trees to speed up harvests and growing popular new varieties to satisfy changing tastes. But the growers who have made this hilly region the core of apple-growing in Pennsylvania worry that they face a new challenge that may be too big to overcome and could change their way of life.
Like farmers in the bigger apple-producing states, they are becoming increasingly anxious about the prospect of China flooding the U.S. market with their fresh apples - an event many believe is inevitable, even if it could be years away.
The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Made-in-China Fears Grip U.S.
WASHINGTON -- China, a traditional source of cheap goods, has become an alarmingly top exporter of tainted and dangerous products to the United States, triggering concerns among consumers and regulators.
Reports of tainted pet foods, dangerous toys, fake drugs, toxin-coated monkfish and cosmetics, drug-laced frozen eel, illicit pesticide-laden mushrooms and other products have led to recalls and bans and potentially more stringent import and food safety laws.
Thousands of cats and dogs died recently after eating food made from wheat gluten spiked with melamine, a chemical used in fertilizers, prompting one of the largest pet-food recalls in US history. Made-in-China toothpaste have also been blacklisted, fearing it may contain a potentially deadly chemical reportedly found in tubes sold in Australia and elsewhere.
The Little Engine That Could Poison
by Christian Warren
FOR decades, Thomas the Tank Engine and his fellow trains have been teaching children important life lessons. Now the plucky locomotives — especially the haughty and sometimes naughty James the Red Engine — are serving up important lessons about regulating environmental poisons in the global economy.
Last week, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that a toy maker, RC2 Corporation of Oak Brook, Ill., was recalling some 1.5 million Thomas & Friends wooden railway toys because their bright red or yellow coatings contain lead.
NYTimes articleread also::: Made in China Inc. blog article - Thomas the Tank - RECALL
Friday, June 22, 2007
China Food Safety Issue Not Hurting Sales
SHANGHAI -- Controversy over the safety of Chinese food products is grabbing headlines around the world, but multinational companies which sell food from China said the issue was not threatening their business.
Executives attending an international food industry conference in Shanghai this week urged China to allay public fears by strengthening its regulation of the sector.
Careful what you wish for, China may grant it
By Julian Delasantellis
In Greek mythology, one of the most effective methods the gods used to punish impudent and hubristic humans was to grant them their most fervent desires.
Inevitably, the weak and feckless mortals would find that getting everything they ever desired would lead to their total ruination, as befell King Midas when granted the wish to have everything he touched turn to gold. The implicit lesson to be learned from these stories was that mortals must temper their wishes and desires, lest they suffer the same fate.
Asia Times Online
In Greek mythology, one of the most effective methods the gods used to punish impudent and hubristic humans was to grant them their most fervent desires.
Inevitably, the weak and feckless mortals would find that getting everything they ever desired would lead to their total ruination, as befell King Midas when granted the wish to have everything he touched turn to gold. The implicit lesson to be learned from these stories was that mortals must temper their wishes and desires, lest they suffer the same fate.
Asia Times Online
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
WP: "Cause for Concern In Chinese Bulbs?"
...Most of us buy garlic at a supermarket. We don't know what kind it is, how fresh it is or where it's grown. But there's a good chance it comes from China, which produces 75 percent of the world's supply...
Garlic is the United States' biggest fresh-vegetable import from China, which sent us 138 million pounds of it worth more than $70 million last year. We also get small amounts from Mexico, Argentina and about 15 other countries. We eat a lot of garlic -- about three pounds per person a year.
Although most of our fresh garlic comes from halfway around the world, it's cheaper than garlic grown in California...
Washington Post articleTuesday, June 19, 2007
China's 'Great Firewall': Flickr is censored
Flickr.com is the latest website to be banned by China's censors.
read News.com::: Web users rage against China's 'Great Firewall'
read News.com::: Web users rage against China's 'Great Firewall'
China overtakes US as world's biggest CO2 emitter
The Guardian [UK] | John Vidal and David Adam
China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest producer of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, figures released today show.
The surprising announcement will increase anxiety about China's growing role in driving man-made global warming and will pile pressure onto world politicians to agree a new global agreement on climate change that includes the booming Chinese economy. China's emissions had not been expected to overtake those from the US, formerly the world's biggest polluter, for several years, although some reports predicted it could happen as early as next year.
China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest producer of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, figures released today show.
The surprising announcement will increase anxiety about China's growing role in driving man-made global warming and will pile pressure onto world politicians to agree a new global agreement on climate change that includes the booming Chinese economy. China's emissions had not been expected to overtake those from the US, formerly the world's biggest polluter, for several years, although some reports predicted it could happen as early as next year.
Monday, June 18, 2007
UPDATE: FDA Warning Expands List of Contaminated Toothpaste from China
Introduction: FDA has found a poisonous chemical, diethylene glycol (DEG), in certain toothpastes imported from China. The agency increased its scrutiny and testing of imported toothpaste and dental products after receiving reports in late May 2007 of contaminated Chinese dental products found in several countries, including Panama.
Q: Why are consumers being warned about toothpaste?
FDA is strongly warning consumers to avoid using any toothpaste labeled as made in China because we have found levels as high as 3-4% of a poisonous chemical, diethylene glycol (DEG), in Chinese toothpaste.
Q: What is diethylene glycol, or DEG?
Diethylene glycol (DEG), also known as "diglycol" is a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze and as a solvent. It does not belong in toothpaste even at small concentrations.
The agency is warning consumers to avoid using tubes of toothpaste labeled as made in China and, through an import alert, is stopping all suspect toothpaste from entering the United States.
FDA continues to investigate this problem and will take further action, as appropriate, to address this important public safety issue.
List of Toothpaste Products FDA has identified the following brands of toothpaste from China that have been found to contain a poisonous chemical called diethylene glycol (DEG). The products typically are sold at low-cost, "bargain" retail outlets.
Manufacturer: Goldcredit International Enterprises LTD Products: (MainStar America, Selective Imports, Donnamax)
Dr. Cool Coolmint Superdent Coolmint Cooldent Coolmint Cooldent Spearmint Cooldent Fluoride Everfresh Assortment BrightMax DentaPro Dentakleen Dentakleen Junior Brand - Strawberry Dentakleen Junior Brand - Blueberry
Manufacturer: Gold Credit International Trading Co LTD Products:
Bright Max Peppermint Flavor Clean Rite Toothpaste Clean Rite Toothpaste Kit Oralmax Extreme Action Kit Oral Bright Fresh Spearmint Flavor DentaKleen DentaKleen Junior DentaPro Manufacturer: Suzhou City Jinmao Daily Chemicals Co. Ltd. Product: (Gold City Enterprises/New Star, Miami, FL)
ShiR Fresh Mint Fluoride Paste ShiRFresh Toothpaste ShiRFresh Mint ShiRFresh Ice Mint Manufacturer Shanghai Light Industrial Products: Freshh Spearmint (Following up with Mandalay International, Ogden, UT)
MFR Unknown: Crescent Toothpaste (Dollar Ocean #4, Wheaton, MD and H&Y Trading Co, Capitol Heights, MD) Naturabella nino Dusanzo (Certejenas Inc., Cidra, PR)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FDA has identified the following counterfeit products:
Manufacturer: Unknown
counterfeit toothpaste falsely packaged as "Colgate," manufactured in South Africa counterfeit tooth gel falsely packaged as "Colgate," manufactured in South Africa (may not contain DEG)
Q: Why are consumers being warned about toothpaste?
FDA is strongly warning consumers to avoid using any toothpaste labeled as made in China because we have found levels as high as 3-4% of a poisonous chemical, diethylene glycol (DEG), in Chinese toothpaste.
Q: What is diethylene glycol, or DEG?
Diethylene glycol (DEG), also known as "diglycol" is a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze and as a solvent. It does not belong in toothpaste even at small concentrations.
The agency is warning consumers to avoid using tubes of toothpaste labeled as made in China and, through an import alert, is stopping all suspect toothpaste from entering the United States.
FDA continues to investigate this problem and will take further action, as appropriate, to address this important public safety issue.
List of Toothpaste Products FDA has identified the following brands of toothpaste from China that have been found to contain a poisonous chemical called diethylene glycol (DEG). The products typically are sold at low-cost, "bargain" retail outlets.
Manufacturer: Goldcredit International Enterprises LTD Products: (MainStar America, Selective Imports, Donnamax)
Dr. Cool Coolmint Superdent Coolmint Cooldent Coolmint Cooldent Spearmint Cooldent Fluoride Everfresh Assortment BrightMax DentaPro Dentakleen Dentakleen Junior Brand - Strawberry Dentakleen Junior Brand - Blueberry
Manufacturer: Gold Credit International Trading Co LTD Products:
Bright Max Peppermint Flavor Clean Rite Toothpaste Clean Rite Toothpaste Kit Oralmax Extreme Action Kit Oral Bright Fresh Spearmint Flavor DentaKleen DentaKleen Junior DentaPro Manufacturer: Suzhou City Jinmao Daily Chemicals Co. Ltd. Product: (Gold City Enterprises/New Star, Miami, FL)
ShiR Fresh Mint Fluoride Paste ShiRFresh Toothpaste ShiRFresh Mint ShiRFresh Ice Mint Manufacturer Shanghai Light Industrial Products: Freshh Spearmint (Following up with Mandalay International, Ogden, UT)
MFR Unknown: Crescent Toothpaste (Dollar Ocean #4, Wheaton, MD and H&Y Trading Co, Capitol Heights, MD) Naturabella nino Dusanzo (Certejenas Inc., Cidra, PR)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FDA has identified the following counterfeit products:
Manufacturer: Unknown
counterfeit toothpaste falsely packaged as "Colgate," manufactured in South Africa counterfeit tooth gel falsely packaged as "Colgate," manufactured in South Africa (may not contain DEG)
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Flaw in the ointment
It was perhaps inevitable that at some stage China would trip, given the speed at which it hurtles towards economic supremacy. That fall, in the glare of the world's media, has come with the humiliating revelations that fake food and medical ingredients have been exported, triggering mass poisonings in the West. With the Beijing Olympics just over a year away, Chinese officials have been forced into frantic damage control.
Brisbane Times
Brisbane Times
Chinese Cars to be Manufactured in Tijuana, Mexico
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Chamco Automotive, a company set up to import Chinese vehicles to the United States, will open a $300 million Tijuana assembly plant in 2009 that will produce the vehicles of Hebei Zhongxing Automobile.
China, by locating in Mexico can now take full advantage of NAFTA, bypassing any import duties to the USA.Lou Dobbs segment:
"Communist China is also, well, now exploiting a gapping loophole in that wonderful trade arrangement called NAFTA. Are you ready? One of China’s largest car makers is about to build an assembly plant in Tijuana, Mexico, the purpose? To build and export vehicles into the United States. And it will be duty-free."
full Lou Dobbs transcript
Friday, June 15, 2007
BBC News: Mass rescue of 'slaves' in China
More than 200 people, including 29 children, have been rescued after working as "slaves" in brick kilns in central China, state media reports.
Tens of thousands of police moved in on the kilns in Henan province, arresting 120 people, Xinhua news agency said.
They acted after media reports claimed that children were being forced to work in kilns in neighbouring Shanxi province, Xinhua said.
Related-
The Washington Times: Inside the Ring by Bill Gertz
China arming terrorists
New intelligence reveals China is covertly supplying large quantities of small arms and weapons to insurgents in Iraq and the Taliban militia in Afghanistan, through Iran.
U.S. government appeals to China to check some of the arms shipments in advance were met with stonewalling by Beijing, which insisted it knew nothing about the shipments and asked for additional intelligence on the transfers. The ploy has been used in the past by China to hide its arms-proliferation activities from the United States, according to U.S. officials with access to the intelligence reports.
Some arms were sent by aircraft directly from Chinese factories to Afghanistan and included large-caliber sniper rifles, millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and components for roadside bombs, as well as other small arms.
The Washington Times
New intelligence reveals China is covertly supplying large quantities of small arms and weapons to insurgents in Iraq and the Taliban militia in Afghanistan, through Iran.
U.S. government appeals to China to check some of the arms shipments in advance were met with stonewalling by Beijing, which insisted it knew nothing about the shipments and asked for additional intelligence on the transfers. The ploy has been used in the past by China to hide its arms-proliferation activities from the United States, according to U.S. officials with access to the intelligence reports.
Some arms were sent by aircraft directly from Chinese factories to Afghanistan and included large-caliber sniper rifles, millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and components for roadside bombs, as well as other small arms.
The Washington Times
First Business: Trade Tensions with China
First Business Morning News asks - "Does counterfeit Colgate, the latest tainted product from China, add pressure to growing trade tensions?"
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Thomas the Tank---RECALL
RC2 Corp., maker of the Thomas the Tank Engine toys, warned parents to keep their children away from 1.5 million Thomas & Friends toys (joining a growing list of Chinese-made products to be pulled from store shelves for safety reasons) because the surface paint contains lead--- a toxin that's dangerous if swallowed.
WBAY
Consumer Products Safety Commission
call toll-free 1-866-725-4407
"Consumers should take the recalled toys away from young children immediately," the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in the recall notice.
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