: P' l! z% c5 l! p$ a! @美国政府下属的国家公路交通安全管理局(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)周一宣布召回新泽西州分销商Foreign Tire Sales销售的轮胎，这些轮胎可用于有篷货车、SUV和小型敞篷载货卡车。. n9 V- R$ O" @: V; J5 @
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由中国杭州中策橡胶有限公司(Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber)制造的这些轮胎缺少一层帮助加固轮胎、防止胎面分离的橡胶层——2000年，正是这个问题导致美国大规模召回凡世通轮胎(Firestone)。记者昨日未能联系到杭州中策的管理人员置评。- i1 G2 z( F$ T
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By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai / [" K: k, a' s/ m; n) m* NWednesday, June 27, 2007 % Y( ^0 ~5 _( t- U0 i0 L( R8 `0 [% D/ t5 c
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION6 t H+ v0 t, U3 ~6 L
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China has impounded two shipments of food from the US on the grounds that the produce is unsafe and warned that procedures for monitoring American food imports should be tightened. % m: {, ]. p. e : {7 l- ^) N7 G( X% O# WGovernment inspectors seized separate shipments of orange pulp and apricots from the US because they contained excessive bacteria and mould, China's food safety inspectorate said yesterday on its website. " f. l9 U8 z( @7 n ( @9 ?- Y6 O" d& e i+ Y! U; fComing on the back of a series of scandals in the US over the quality of imported goods from China, the announcement will be considered by many importers as a form of retaliation by the Chinese authorities.9 Q2 g P4 n( T, D& R$ j$ D
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The statement comes one day after regulators in the US announced a recall of up to 450,000 tyres manufactured by a Chinese company because of a potentially dangerous safety problem. + k) D ^* q0 i: r3 q 8 S! u. B/ P' P' l9 _: F! f0 [% uChina's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said it had impounded the orange pulp in the eastern province of Shandong and the apricots were seized in Shenzhen. , ~: a) j! c$ ?+ j+ C3 o6 \# y0 G4 W5 Y' u1 T- K
The shipments contained “excessive bacteria, mould and sulphur dioxide”, the agency said, but gave no details about when they were impounded or how big the shipments were. , ~9 r% h1 v) i7 @3 a8 B; }5 {6 U) v+ E
The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”.- s3 L2 s1 N; ~0 z
) |: ^* X, A# P" r" MAn executive at a European trading company based in Shanghai said: “We cannot say anything for sure without seeing details about the shipments, but it certainly looks like a way of deflecting some of the attention away from China and its own quality problems.”$ [: V/ g8 k; D7 Q% \' |
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The US government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Monday the recall of tyres sold by Foreign Tire Sales, a New Jersey distributor, which are used in vans, sports utility vehicles and pick-up trucks. , J5 t1 t# v" Q2 i3 S5 X $ Q* V+ p/ W& ^The tyres, made by a Chinese company called Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, lacked a gum strip that helps strengthen the tyre and prevent tread separation – the problem that caused a massive recall of Firestone tyres in the US in 2000. Officials at Hangzhou Zhongce could not be reached for comment yesterday. * L! K/ q$ A. m8 \4 Y ( b5 @, _3 a! P) O5 b' L T * s# h9 x" f7 O # d7 W! Q$ ^0 C* H6 C- sFinancial Times
