0 i1 I6 E |; V {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。” 2 f6 k4 h9 f2 g' [; d {' H8 k( o6 D( z; F1 U' p+ W, w
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。9 V9 F+ t: u* d9 h% E0 c' l
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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。- x+ S/ Q% b0 Q% g1 L0 V0 }
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; O( G. W4 Z. GBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai ! R8 ]% f( k6 M+ ~6 h2 v
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 * m) N( }2 e, n6 A& ?
6 w& o" t0 S( L& c, r 4 r% Q/ _6 i* O# y3 OBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION ) {) h& X3 `3 }% W8 a, \" u- D# p7 I; Z* I$ j/ a
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. # W+ y+ b5 O R# T' [/ g8 x" m+ M( ~( w/ _; \+ q# R
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. 8 {- o$ q/ u5 X. Y+ k , C' |* f/ N+ T5 a9 qComing 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. ! i6 r3 K, y% R7 B- W" M9 \, ? Z$ e! r. ~0 [
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. 4 W/ G" q. h! }1 d7 x1 E" |) Y9 b. `
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. 4 N2 Q! s0 d0 b4 b w$ G% p4 R' [) D+ p9 q2 r
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. P# f0 J) i8 L( t# e2 D
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The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. $ V d) \! E; \4 y4 i. }- W5 l7 T' c
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.” 0 h" L3 X) a x4 K K1 i$ r q; w3 Q: `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.$ p& `5 z/ r+ [' L
1 T. K$ \9 n3 @2 H' c! v2 Z- Y7 qThe 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. ; q5 q$ w4 b# E, j3 {; M ! U: y$ `- I* w4 d' Y+ G/ D7 {" @, {% a+ M: r! L9 U
