$ |7 N' {9 ]0 h' G) \+ C- u. I2 ~某欧洲贸易公司驻上海的一位高管表示：“没有看到关于这些货物的细节，我们说什么都没有把握，但显然，这看起来像是要引开人们对中国及其自身质量问题的关注。” 9 x r' [ K$ o4 z0 x' f 7 G0 @6 P, o1 ?1 |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。 \# g% H! A6 C9 d! U( \+ s
, ?/ ^8 A- t* K _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。8 d6 E" H* |: M/ n. J4 F
# Q6 v8 N; o! J( C: ^1 U9 e / H, w) u8 ]2 b# x- p W7 q! @! JBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai . m. d+ O+ U2 N0 Z% B' _+ d S* _
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 . n5 N" z% s1 f2 `" M2 p . M N1 G/ w! U. i* Q3 @5 a& R# J" i7 t- w
BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION$ \0 ^) k- F: s9 ^% V' U7 `0 m. q
4 q! f0 b8 w0 |' r" aChina 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.. s! D5 N) c! J. Z$ y$ t+ C
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Government 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.5 Z# V/ s6 h' F2 w
6 a$ c: t: {0 N; k/ a- x, XComing 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.% q) r( W0 c0 T3 K( [ d
4 j, e' G! Q9 oThe 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. ]$ }9 U1 E# x1 E
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China'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$ ]7 F+ w3 w$ w9 W, `0 Y3 h
$ Y+ u; B* T) AThe 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. / ~6 s+ `9 I. W ` 8 L* ~1 T! V3 R% r oThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”.& z( W! E( F/ y, d! v! n
5 i0 d1 @/ w5 N- z7 s. q# i8 ZAn 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.” 7 q; V6 g- k! u& _; g! O, W* U% s( U! T4 |
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.% k9 o! R* ^# x' p
0 F2 ^6 C8 I6 c7 {6 n# mThe 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.4 g( F' h1 {5 d' Q
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Financial Times
