7 n8 ]& F1 E6 m. q1 L( u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" f5 r5 A+ y I" b3 G
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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。- V0 y1 j* Z' L' a
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, W6 _& q" X* Y' f1 {/ QBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai & ?% g+ F3 H1 v' M) G: g8 PWednesday, June 27, 2007 : `" w; E7 Z3 C5 u: Z0 G; i% g
! z5 a G9 f4 r: _: _" T' P 4 k; ^4 _ h4 h* F9 z. xBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION: Q2 p5 D7 h- h* k7 s% n
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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. 4 H% @0 A1 w) `- B4 M0 L) D - n0 }' h) Q. hGovernment 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" I, \4 U- M8 x" [+ d( @2 v3 j+ Z6 z& f
Coming 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.1 D# J1 ~! |! 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. / h' S/ j0 _5 @/ L i% W+ P, V' }. ~ I7 h- o' J
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. # t4 w8 P+ C; M2 D! T8 J 7 v# u! M1 _7 Z2 i% WThe 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. # ^8 x# k+ ], y* ^5 \. t# a. B- B
The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. # }: z/ i+ `3 ?+ f/ H9 v 1 V, ~0 ^! a, F. n9 a" E0 L$ O- wAn 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.”! Q$ g% a# v, v* P- z
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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. $ L6 K1 P" T" ^; D+ ?! j 6 k/ {/ g% G a$ I; `, U. @# A8 kThe 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. " D3 M' c) r; y! q5 z # F; O. f) `( _/ z/ F9 Z# F+ p1 ^1 U u' F; L5 Q
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Financial Times
