6 M. G q1 T2 c+ N/ ^0 b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。” 1 I$ u9 B4 P, C, W- Q; o ; T" \8 d! y5 \5 }1 Z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。3 N/ }" Z0 i6 ~6 B. T( B5 I! e0 l
9 l7 `1 k7 O( w1 y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。 6 H) X- N( j: l o; d4 r/ C; h3 y1 S" }# }5 \ D4 m! D3 `* J
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By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai : X7 q5 Y% h4 L5 Z
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 ; o1 ?: K/ C5 ^ d" f3 A5 u
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8 s5 h8 U; o9 p4 ]4 y5 ^& K. bBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION& l/ M6 P" `3 K- ]9 z( ~
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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 f7 E6 f6 ]3 c% l; V# v+ z5 B5 i3 f s9 J% |3 B
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.% s5 F( U7 l* y/ f; ?* U6 ~
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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. / m3 o& A" w$ }5 v4 Y( U. j$ Z" S) Q
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.& o& Z1 [/ `$ x
1 I& p8 d/ [ q$ K4 g; wChina'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. + R+ x3 x, R) J' h % l& S! K6 ^1 M: |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. 7 z# E' n8 V0 J 4 c0 U' M9 @- d2 V- ~The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”.4 o4 u* ~! y# {, S; R: b& H
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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.”! X. U* j5 }& }8 h& x' v! g
0 d" h6 f- t; VThe 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. + K$ Q6 _+ |7 r8 Q( ]4 ^* T5 }) Y3 C1 `6 ?
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. 5 J8 a8 {* M2 q& o( ]7 h6 j# O ) \( B6 m% N( n4 Z' M( N) T/ @7 {1 R- g
