1 B, f. P$ {5 g/ M6 a( h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。”. a7 K/ e* A4 M# }
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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。 ! I9 o- |4 N/ U2 o, Y' `" | 1 D @5 `* U' Y2 ]8 s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。 : p' ?4 ~8 z8 k) g 2 T0 w! \( j8 d# Z/ l: O+ M- o. e b# y
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai & y: t) M$ _8 v6 c, U
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 " R# k; d6 ~- \1 a! M2 x
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION 3 P. ?( w, z) t9 |' i% Q! ]9 U9 p, V: d7 x5 \7 H
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.; v8 B4 U/ @& p6 z' 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.2 F0 G% q- E8 i0 s2 R) P
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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.& T2 x H! a l2 @3 @
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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.! x; N. o0 q3 `& c) t
8 _2 L3 r2 M1 _" s+ W4 X5 B' Q$ vChina'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. % o4 r4 M9 ]! Q) s% r1 I " H; a) i1 _% p6 j( Z) K/ ?, I: R' kThe 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. 4 v; y; i% t6 u$ F2 g7 Q/ Y# e7 G9 j# [3 E/ L7 z" |, h( m
The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. ' t8 y1 B7 X8 R" S9 M$ U3 H* @9 V6 x/ R/ i
An 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 d1 m" ` E) _2 M' H+ j6 T
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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. $ J! S* G3 }' H$ _9 ]1 ]) }- {) \" P, r, Z2 t" t8 i
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.3 |+ i/ z p; G9 D. f X- t
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Financial Times
