Toy trains covered in lead based paint. Tires missing important radial gum safety precautions. Are these really some sort of elaborate conspiracy to put stress on China in times of abrasive trade with the US? Or simply a case of American QC keeping better track of what’s coming from China. In a recent nytimes article I just read, Chinese seafood has also been banned.

While working in commodities plastics for a number of years, I ordered a lot of product from Thailand and China. My Asian partners warned me to be very careful with Chinese goods, indicating the sigma of Chinese qc was very large—Especially in subsequent shipments after the first 2 or 3 orders. Of course I also ran into some significant problems with Thai materials suggesting that China is not alone in its problems.

I think anyone who has traded from overseas would agree that monitoring product quality can be very difficult. (Anyone who is seriously considering starting some sort of import business from China or any part of the world for that matter needs to pay special attention to QC–and even include frequent QC confirmation trips in their budget). Chinese, Thai or otherwise, it requires management and exercised controls. While there very likely could be a hint of bias against the steady trade giant, I won’t deny that claiming some shipments or recalling the items is a necessary step to improving the products from China… It will also lead to higher prices and more fierce competition among other developed nations…