Chinese Goods Should Contain Ingredients Label
There has always been a certain stereotype about goods that are made in China. Visit any flea market in the country and 80% of the goods are made in China. Unquestionably, many of the products that the average American uses on any given day are made in China. Now as we read the news regarding Chinese goods and the amount of lead and other hazardous substances contained in Chinese goods, we will be faced with the problem of who should actually regulate these goods? I was at the toy store yesterday doing some Christmas shopping and was looking at some of the conventional labels such as “4 and older” or “Contains Small Parts”. As I was reading the labels, I though to myself that it would actually be much more valuable for these goods to contain a label like our foods. Lead 30%, Date Rape Drug 2%, and more.
Now the government is faced with a dilemma, just how do you regulate these goods. An ingredients label would be good but agencies such as the Consumer Products Safety Commission have little or no jurisdiction over these types of matters. In addition, the agency is responsible for regulating the safety of 15,000 consumer products in the United States, including toys, and provides governmental regulatory compliance. The agency is not responsible for testing the ingredients. So, who should regulate these types of items? Should the FDA be responsible and how do you actually regulate these types of items? If a factory in China is not complying with given standards, do you blacklist that factory? It seems like a useless exercise to me. Companies such as Disney have been fighting China for years to stop the importation of counterfeit goods with little or no success. So how is the government going to regulate some factory in Guangdong Province and how do you audit a blacklisting designation? In other words, how do you blacklist a factory if they are not complying with our safety standards? In addition, where will these goods be tested and who is going to pay for it? Are Chinese Manufacturers going to pay for it or is this cost going to be transferred to the consumer? All of these questions remain to be unanswered so I agree with Senator Biden, halt the importation of dangerous Chinese goods for now.
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