Blame U.S. companies for bad Chinese goods

[Deja Q]

Source: CNN Money

Industry experts say U.S. companies need to monitor overseas factories more closely to prevent product safety lapses.
By Parija B. Kavilanz, CNNMoney.com senior writer
August 14 2007: 1:59 PM EDT

"U.S. law is pretty clear. The importer is responsible for quality and safety of goods imported into the country," said Erin Ennis, vice president with the U.S.-China Business Council. "But the Chinese can absolutely do more to prevent safety issues."

Pat Furey, a consultant with Ariba, a global supply chain software and service consultancy that also operates in China, agreed that more effort has to be made by companies like Mattel to clamp down on shoddy production of its products overseas.

"About 10 to 15 years ago, it was a common thing for most companies importing from overseas, including from China, to do their own batch-testing of products at their suppliers' factories," Furey said.

But due to cost-savings, he said these companies started to outsource periodic product tests to the suppliers themselves, thereby opening the door to poorer quality controls.


Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/14/news/companies/china_recalls/?postversion=2007081413

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So why is the USA closing FDA and other QC plants?

Plus, the article treats corporations solely as US entities. In a "global market" with "multinational corporations", that article seems to be spinning something, though I'm not quite sure what...

[AndyA]

1. Outsourcing has been such a boon to America.

We've lost millions of high paying jobs.

We've given away any pretense of quality goods.

We now have only a bunch of cheap cr@p made by people is sweat shops.

"Made in America" is only a memory today.

What a deal!

[Deja Q]

3. Yet China is building "4 manhattans per day" and India's middle class is rising too.

I don't see them complaining. Except about the US.

Meanwhile our media can't decide if corporations are multinational or merely "American"...

That's the fun thing about a democratic media. The most far-flung theories, in one direction or the other, can be said and as a result everyone gets confused.

[Skittles]

8. very painful to witness, Andy

I buy little American flag stickers to cover the "Printed in Malaysia" on the Texas postcards I mail to Texan soldiers in Iraq :puke:

[Fridays Child]

2. Oh, really? Well, then Bushco will be sure to get on this, right after...

...they actually enforce the law against employers who hire illegal immigrants--because everyone knows how Bushco makes businesses toe the line. :sarcasm:

[Deja Q]

4. Yeah, the timing of that has bothered me too.

Of course, if too many American families are trying to get jobs that actually pay something they can raise their families on while remaining AS families, few would be left to vie for those hot fruit pickin' jobs. Of course, most of them would be disqualified as "overqualified" anyway...

Hurry up true globalization. Hurry up North American Union. Hurry up whatever because I want to prosper in the new order.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. I don't see any spin-- it just presents the facts...

and there's nothing new here, except that both the gummint and importers are falling down on the job more than they did in the past.

[dbackjon]

6. Maybe some companies will realize that outsourcing

Isn't the answer - that quality does matter...

[Skittles]

9. negative

it is simply leading to lower expectations. You know when you call for help on your PC and get routed overseas you'll get crappy service - you expect it. When I call at work on any type of security issue - for example, passwords, I now now that it will be done by people in Brazil and the service will be crappy. What used to take 15 minutes now takes HOURS.

[dbackjon]

10. Unless we start demanding better service by voting with our dollars

[0007]

7. You'd think that these products that are being shipped out of China

would be scrutinized before leaving port, 'eh?

It appears that the "Propaganda & Hate Ministry's" are hard at work.

[candice]

11. There must be American toys! Vote with your pocketbook...

...as for being sent abroad for customer support, that company doesn't care about my time. If there is an alternative, I go with them.

Having an Apple Store nearby is helpful, but I haven't really had any issues. I dropped Dell because of the poor technical support. Even calling to get my name removed from their catalog list took half an hour and the poor guy in India had no idea what a street number was.

[Deja Q]

12. Good thing you have a local Apple store...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Apple+offshore&btnG=Google+Search

iTunes, iMac, it's amazing what they're moving iOffshore...

[underpants]

13. Sherlock line 2

Paging Dr. GuptaWatson

[Supersedeas]

14. more oversight defeats the purpose of slave-labor

[alfredo]

15. Where was the CPSC? Were they staffed by bushies? Did they have

their funding slashed? Were they told to back off regulating business?