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U.S. Companies Look More Closely At Chinese Products

Schumer Calls for Creation of "Import Czar"

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

July 2, 2007

• $30 Million Settlement in Thomas & Friends Suit • Beware of Lead in Holiday Decorations • Lead Poisoning Hazard in Sesame Street Toy Medical Kits • Lead, Arsenic Found in Popular Toys • Toy Dangers Not Confined To Lead • New Jersey Finds Recalled Toys In Nine Stores • Retailers Remove Lead-Tainted Jewelry after NY Probe • Experts Offer Toy-Buying Safety Tips • California Sues 20 Toy Companies • Kmart Removes Lead-Encrusted 'Lead-Free' Jewelry • 10 Worst Toys Of 2007 • More Lead-Laden Toys Recalled • eBay: Where Recalled Items Live Forever • Home Lead Test Kits Unreliable, Feds Warn • Magazine Finds Lead in Maxi Blocks • California Bans Plastic-Softening Chemical in Toys • Noxious Tile Sealer Stayed on Home Depot Shelves • Latest Recalls Include Toy Tools from Target, More Thomas Trains • Mattel, Not China, To Blame For Toy Recall, Company Admits • Lead Paint Leads to Another Big Mattel Recall • Toy Industry Defends Chinese Imports • U.S. Companies Look More Closely At Chinese Products • 96% of This Year's Recalled Toys Came From China • Senator Wants Congressional Hearing on Chinese Toy Imports • Thomas & Friends Recall • More Toy Recalls --- • Consumer Safety Agency In Limbo --- • Recall Notices

Consumers aren’t the only ones getting a little concerned about the quality of products arriving from China. U.S. businesses that used Chinese products and materials have reportedly stepped up testing of their imports.

General Mills, Kellogg and Toys “R” Us have increased their inspections, in the wake of recalls of tainted dog food, toothpaste and tires, according to The New York Times. The newspaper says these inspections included more unannounced visits to Chinese manufacturing plants.

Food makers are said to be testing for potential contaminants not on the inspection list a few months ago.

Toys “R” Us has hired two senior executives, creating new positions to oversee procurement and product safety, mainly for goods made in China. A ConsumerAffairs.com analysis shows that 96 percent of the recalled toys and children's clothing this year were made in China.

U.S. companies are feeling the heat, along with China, over these new safety concerns. Some members of Congress have accused companies of compromising quality in order to cut costs and increase profits.

The latest political heat is coming from Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is calling for the creation of a federal import czar, saying unexacting inspections and a bureaucratic morass are to blame for the problems.

"Neither the Chinese or American government is doing their job," he told The Washington Post. Schumer said the Bush administration had cut funds for the regulatory agencies that are responsible for ensuring food and product safety.

"The Chinese system of regulations is where we were in 1890," Schumer said. Rigorous inspections at the U.S. border must make up for any weakness in foreign regulations, Schumer contended.

Last week, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee – whose jurisdiction includes product recalls – requested Senate action in analyzing the underlying concerns of toy safety, China’s role and what can be done to safeguard children from potentially harmful products.

Klobuchar was especially alarmed by the June 13 recall of 1.5 million Thomas and Friends trains and railroad sets.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says budget cuts have reduced the number of inspectors at ports of entry. The agency says it is able to inspects less than one percent of imports.

With only two commissioners, the agency is not able to vote on civil penalties or enact new safety regulations.

Toy Recalls

Parents have become alarmed about toy safety following the toy train recalls.

The expensive train sets were found to be coated with possible poisonous lead paint. Also recalled because of lead paint were sets of toy drums and a toy bear. An infant wrist rattle was recalled because of a choking hazard.

“As a parent of a 12 year-old and as a Member of the Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance and Automotive safety, I am alarmed by these statistics and concerned that the risks our children face in playing with these unsafe toys are not being adequately addressed,” Klobuchar said.

Klobuchar said increased congressional scrutiny over Chinese imported products, including toys, is "essential to ensure the enforcement of existing consumer safety-related regulations and to address any voids or gaps in the law."

Complete List

Here is a list of recalled toys and children's items so far this year, with the country of origin as listed by the CPSC.

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