US warns China over export safety

US warns China over export safety
By Krishna Guha in Washington and Reuters
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: July 13 2007 00:59 | Last updated: July 13 2007 06:16


The Bush administration urged China on Thursday to step up efforts to ensure the safety of its exports to the US, following a spate of Chinese product recalls and food scares.

Carlos Gutierrez, the commerce secretary, made the call as the US separately took a further step in its World Trade Organisation claim against China over what it alleges are illegal subsidies. Mexico said it would join the US claim.

Mr Gutierrez told Reuters the administration had called on China to get on top of the safety issue. His remarks reflect growing public disquiet in the US over scares associated with Chinese products.

On Friday, the Chinese government agency overseeing food and drug safety posted comments from Shao Mingli, its head, at a work meeting putting responsibility on manufacturers. ”Companies are the people with the first line of responsibility for food and drug safety, and must strengthen management, uphold the law in their operations, honestly follow regulations and guarantee safety,” he said. ”Food and drugs are special products, and manufacturers and sellers cannot only go after economic gain.”

”Food and drug safety is critical to the people’s health and lives, and is critical for social stability and harmony,” he added. ”This issue can easily morph into a much larger one and directly affect the image of local governments and the state, affect social stability and harmony as well as socio-economic development.”

Separately, the official China Daily newspaper reported that the military would conduct checks of its food suppliers. ”To strengthen food safety is to guarantee the People’s Liberation Army’s combat capacity,” a logistics officer said.

The high-profile execution of Mr Shao’s predecessor on bribery charges does not appear to have reassured US consumers.

While the issue of Chinese food and products has not yet become a big political issue inside the US, some members of Congress are beginning to demand more action from the government.

Charles Schumer, the Democratic senator from New York, blasted what he called “increasingly unsafe imports from China” and called for the appointment of an “import tsar” to protect US consumers.

US officials raised food and product safety at the May meeting of the US-China strategic economic dialogue but it is likely to be a much bigger issue at the next meeting, expected in Beijing in December.

The office of the US Trade Representative, meanwhile, announced the US had requested that the WTO establish a dispute settlement panel to evaluate its claim regarding what it says are subsidies provided by China that break WTO rules.

The move follows formal consultations with China. A USTR spokesman said: “Although our two rounds of WTO consultations with China have been constructive, they have not resolved our concerns about China’s apparent use of trade- distorting subsidies.”