So it's come to this: China kills US homing pigeons
UK National Newspaper the Guardian reports on the latest spat between the US and China in an escalating (but petty) trade war over the safety of consumer goods.
Inspectors at Beijing airport have seized and destroyed a shipment of 41 homing pigeons, after it was found that their health certification was incorrect and the number of birds failed to coincide with what was written on the accompanying documentation.
This 'retaliation' comes on the back of a series of health scares involving Chinese products. Toxic ingredients in Chinese pharmaceutical products killed two people in Panama. Americans and Europeans found industrial solvent in tubes of toothpaste. American inspectors found cancer-causing chemicals in fish, and melamine in pet food. Apart from picking on the pigeons, China has also suspended some US pork and poultry exports.
Of course, this is a symptom of much wider concerns about US trade with China- many of those in Congress are calling for the country to change its trade and monetary policies.
As I have said in my previous post on this topic, China bashing is not the answer. China poses a huge policy problem for the US because of its geography- its enormous population makes labor cheap and its large land mass makes law enforcement difficult. The results of these respectively are i) outsourcing and a huge trade deficit and ii) cheap, but sometimes sub-standard consumer products.
We must look to our own laws first. The US doesn't enforce ILO standards, the administration has allowed the currency to depreciate in order to keep the economy afloat, and we have underfunded the agency that's supposed to inspect the goods we buy. We have made it easier for companies to outsource jobs. We protect the rights of multinational companies and foreign investors over domestic producers, their workers and the public.
Both China and the US must be allowed to grow and prosper in the global economy. Let's get the policies right so that we do so in a sustainable way.
Inspectors at Beijing airport have seized and destroyed a shipment of 41 homing pigeons, after it was found that their health certification was incorrect and the number of birds failed to coincide with what was written on the accompanying documentation.
This 'retaliation' comes on the back of a series of health scares involving Chinese products. Toxic ingredients in Chinese pharmaceutical products killed two people in Panama. Americans and Europeans found industrial solvent in tubes of toothpaste. American inspectors found cancer-causing chemicals in fish, and melamine in pet food. Apart from picking on the pigeons, China has also suspended some US pork and poultry exports.
Of course, this is a symptom of much wider concerns about US trade with China- many of those in Congress are calling for the country to change its trade and monetary policies.
As I have said in my previous post on this topic, China bashing is not the answer. China poses a huge policy problem for the US because of its geography- its enormous population makes labor cheap and its large land mass makes law enforcement difficult. The results of these respectively are i) outsourcing and a huge trade deficit and ii) cheap, but sometimes sub-standard consumer products.
We must look to our own laws first. The US doesn't enforce ILO standards, the administration has allowed the currency to depreciate in order to keep the economy afloat, and we have underfunded the agency that's supposed to inspect the goods we buy. We have made it easier for companies to outsource jobs. We protect the rights of multinational companies and foreign investors over domestic producers, their workers and the public.
Both China and the US must be allowed to grow and prosper in the global economy. Let's get the policies right so that we do so in a sustainable way.
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