EU, US and China up product safety cooperation
source: http://www.euractiv.com/en/trade/eu-us-china-product-safety-cooperation/article-177290/
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- arcticspirit
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Officials yesterday (17 November) agreed to enhance cooperation on consumer product and food safety issues at a tripartite summit in Brussels. The meeting came after a series of public scares involving Chinese toys and tainted milk marked trade relations between the three blocs.
Background:
The Trilateral Summit on Consumer Product Safety between the United States, China and the European Union was the first such meeting to take place at a high level.
The summit marked the follow-up to a September meeting between the three powers on product safety compliance, hosted by Beijing.
Areas for action identified at the meeting include product traceability, joint cooperation on toy safety standards, expertise exchange and joint enforcement measures. Future areas for discussion between the three economic giants will focus on strengthening information exchange on alerts and recalls.
China concerns
"Close cooperation is not just a desirable luxury, but a real necessity, especially after recent scares," Kuneva continued. According to RAPEX, "approximately 50% of goods withdrawn from the EU market in recent years are of Chinese origin".
Indeed, toy safety became a particular concern for the EU in 2007 following the recall of millions of Chinese-made products – including the iconic Barbie doll - by US giant Mattel, after they were discovered to contain 'impermissible' amounts of lead and choking hazards.
Arcticspirit's question: With China holding the majority of America's dept, will they walk all over us on this issue? Do we have the same power as the EU at this time to negotiate safety of product?
Background:
The Trilateral Summit on Consumer Product Safety between the United States, China and the European Union was the first such meeting to take place at a high level.
The summit marked the follow-up to a September meeting between the three powers on product safety compliance, hosted by Beijing.
Areas for action identified at the meeting include product traceability, joint cooperation on toy safety standards, expertise exchange and joint enforcement measures. Future areas for discussion between the three economic giants will focus on strengthening information exchange on alerts and recalls.
China concerns
"Close cooperation is not just a desirable luxury, but a real necessity, especially after recent scares," Kuneva continued. According to RAPEX, "approximately 50% of goods withdrawn from the EU market in recent years are of Chinese origin".
Indeed, toy safety became a particular concern for the EU in 2007 following the recall of millions of Chinese-made products – including the iconic Barbie doll - by US giant Mattel, after they were discovered to contain 'impermissible' amounts of lead and choking hazards.
Arcticspirit's question: With China holding the majority of America's dept, will they walk all over us on this issue? Do we have the same power as the EU at this time to negotiate safety of product?
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arcticspirit
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I am worried that China won't worry about quality and safety when talking with the US as they own so many work contracts for our products.
- 3 years ago
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arcticspirit
