0 z% g$ ~3 S8 U! B) Q! v) X* T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。 1 j, s" `: {" I$ G1 s$ p1 @& e) z- k9 U
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。 ( }. O3 t# y0 Y+ v5 _ ( {* t, |( `! e Y , n! B6 n, E T+ \" bBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai , C" ^8 N! J: cWednesday, June 27, 2007 & e, x# |' C" h1 R5 C+ O1 s" p0 Q( w& }* `
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION. ~# W, O( U$ Q* a/ r h
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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. 7 s+ ]6 s, K* v 3 n5 Q; X3 X0 L% d! m6 uGovernment 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. 1 Z! Q. k# _+ B( F0 x5 n; P0 r1 `1 p3 a& b% w/ Y
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.' P* ^" v( `5 b* c3 X7 m
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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. c4 a4 W$ ?5 h% ^+ i ; F+ g8 G$ p" [5 xChina'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.6 T) ?$ _/ f M% a3 R3 |5 O4 ]; N+ ?0 v
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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.1 u# V7 d( t( D$ N
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The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. 2 m6 l* [; X5 g6 w |. S& n D. s5 S2 p* K6 o( d; A
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.” 1 A+ ~5 ?7 ^$ x5 w' h( C; ^+ o4 c 9 k. Y/ L4 d" m$ ~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.( w" U5 ~/ Q* [ I3 O3 }7 K" M
; o k; j5 N o( y" ?. D) s/ eThe 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./ z& h+ g" V% F4 S* k
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Financial Times
