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August 25, 2007
China Retaliates Against Imports of US Air
BEIJING - Stung by a spate of safety recalls of its products, China hinted Thursday that it might take retaliatory action against U.S. shipments of air exported to China.
China's top air safety regulator today said it has found repeated safety problems in shipping containers filled with air from the United States and demanded the US take "effective actions" to solve the problem.
Pernicious particulates have been detected in the gaseous mixture imported from the US by several entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureaus around China during the last few months, which put the country's forests, ecology and Chinese air consumers at jeopardy, stated the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision and Inspection on its official Website.
China imports millions of cubic feet of air from the US every year.
Consumer advocates in China stated “US air was of lower quality than traditional Chinese breathing gases lacking eight micro elements for human body, that make for important curative effects and improve markedly life quality for Chinese breathing consumers.” The advocates went on to issue a warning to anyone that may have consumed American air to take caution to only expose nostrils and throat breathing apparatus to traditional Chinese air to return to panacea of extraordinary respiratory splendor again.
US retailers and other importers of Chinese manufactured goods expressed concern that these actions by the Chinese government could lead to a shortage of shipping containers in China with which to import goods to the US and also a glut of containers stateside as American air makes up the bulk of US exports to China.
Posted by Pile On® at August 25, 2007 08:06 PM
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Comments
We will all soon be living in those excess containers, according to Paul Krugman.
(I made that up)
Posted by: Don Brouhaha at August 25, 2007 08:47 PM
That might be the best first comment ever...and stuff.
Posted by: Pile On® at August 25, 2007 09:13 PM
Since CHina's a mercantile empire, a trade war is the logical next step.
Posted by: Ymarsakar at August 25, 2007 09:41 PM
Pile On, you are too kind, and absolutely full of it.
And my company sometimes imports cheap stuff from China to sell to unsuspecting American dolts, and that puts food on the table for my youngins', so nix on the trade war.
How about some sharply worded fortune cookies?
Posted by: Don Brouhaha at August 25, 2007 10:11 PM
...my company sometimes imports cheap stuff from China to sell to unsuspecting American dolts...
How's the tableware business doing?
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,22288406-401,00.html?from=public_rss
Posted by: BillT at August 25, 2007 10:32 PM
so nix on the trade war.
China's going to start it, not the US. The US tends to be very solicitous of local power cliques and what not. Cold War behavioral indoctrination I believe.
Posted by: Ymarsakar at August 25, 2007 10:59 PM
In the latest in a series of tit-for-tat measures, China has accused the United States of exporting substandard soybean shipments to China and requested "effective measures" be taken.
China also has that Mao/peasant provincial streak going on. Even General Giap could be surprised by American notions of... well, everything, as the case may have been.
China thinks the US is trying to undermine Chinese goods (trade) with these talks of safety, because that is what China would do if they were in the US's position. They don't really believe you folks could be guillible enough to actually be worrying about safety rather than trying to protect your own interests. Because they don't see "safety" as in anyone's interest except for some peasants and they don't really matter. (check with Mao on that)
Assuming the US had competent diplomats, this issue might be solved without a trade war but given the quality of the State Department so far... let's just say that competent diplomacy is not going to appear in the State Department anytime soon.
Posted by: Ymarsakar at August 25, 2007 11:11 PM
The used chop-stick thing always bothers me when I travel in China. You never know, they are a pretty tricky bunch.
And the spittoons in the restaurants. Yum.
Posted by: Don Brouhaha at August 26, 2007 10:03 AM
Is there a 2% or 25% tariff on the good old American Air? I am pretty sure that Bill Clinton gave them all they needed to know on how to make it themselves anyway........
Posted by: Billy Budd at August 26, 2007 12:56 PM
And the spittoons in the restaurants. Yum.
Where did you *think* duck sauce came from?
Posted by: BillT at August 26, 2007 01:08 PM
Where did you *think* duck sauce came from?
Thought that came from the cats and dogs after the meat had been stripped off them?
Posted by: Ymarsakar at August 26, 2007 03:02 PM
"How about some sharply worded fortune cookies?".
You mean like, "That wasn't chicken."?
Posted by: Sly2017 at August 26, 2007 03:49 PM
Exactly, Sly.
Posted by: Ymarsakar at August 26, 2007 06:03 PM
We will all soon be living in those excess containers, according to Paul Krugman.
(I made that up)
Posted by: Don Brouhaha at August 25, 2007 08:47 PM
Actually, I was looking into constructing my retirement bungalow outta them thar shipping containers...
Posted by: camojack at August 27, 2007 03:50 AM