January 29, 2009
by Wayne M. Morrison
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

China is a major source of U.S. imports of consumer products (such as toys) and an increasingly important supplier of various food products. Reports of unsafe seafood, pet food, toys, tires, and other products imported from China over the past year or so have raised concern in the United States over the health, safety, and quality of imported Chinese products. This report provides an overview of this issue and implications for U.S.-China trade relations and will be updated as events warrant.

 full report 29/01/2009,08:12 184.46 Kb

• Warnings, Recalls, and Detentions
• U.S. Imports of Products of Concern from China
• China's Poor Regulatory system
• Economic Implications.
• Table 1. U.S. Imports of Selected Products from China in 2007..
  Author Contact Information

In 2007, China overtook Canada to become the largest source of U.S. imports (at $322 billion); accounting for about 17% of all U.S. imports. Over the past year or so, numerous recalls and warnings have been issued by U.S. firms over various products imported from China, due to health and safety concerns. This has led many U.S. policymakers to question the adequacy of China's regulatory environment in ensuring that its exports to the United States meet U.S. standards for health, safety, and quality; as well as the ability of U.S. government regulators, importers, and retailers to identify and take action against unsafe imports (from all countries) before they enter the U.S. market.


The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2007 issued warnings and announced voluntary recalls on certain pet foods (and products used to manufacture pet food and animal feed) from China believed to have caused the sickness and deaths of numerous pets in the United States. In May 2007, the FDA issued warnings on certain toothpaste products (some of which were found to be counterfeit) found to originate in China that contained poisonous chemicals. In June 2007, the FDA announced import controls on all farm-raised catfish, bass, shrimp, dace (related to carp), and eel from China after antimicrobial agents, which are not approved in the United States for use in farm-raised aquatic animals, were found. Such shipments will be detained until they are proven to be free of contaminants. On January 25, 2008, the FDA posted on its website a notice by Baxter Healthcare Corporation that it had temporarily halted the manufacture of its multiple-dose vials of heparin (a blood thinner) for injection because of recent reports of serious adverse events (including an estimated 81 deaths and hundreds of complications) associated with the use of this drug.

On February 18, 2008, the New York Times reported that a Chinese firm that produces an active ingredient used to produce heparin was not certified by the Chinese government to make the drug and had not undergone FDA inspection; many have speculated that the Chinese plant is likely the source of the problem.1 On September 12, 2008, the FDA issued a health information advisory on infant formula in response to reports of contaminated milk-based infant formula manufactured and sold in China, and later issued a warning on other products containing milk imported from China.

On November 12, 2008, the FDA issued a new alert stating that all products containing milk imported from China would be detained unless proven to be free of melamine. On December 2, 2008, the Chinese government reported that melamine-tainted formula had so far killed six children and sickened 294,000 others (51,900 of whom had to be hospitalized and 154 were in serious condition).2

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in June 2007 was informed by Foreign Tire Sales Inc., an importer of foreign tires, that it suspected that up to 450,000 tires (later reduced to 255,000 tires) made in China may have a major safety defect (i.e., missing or insufficient gum strip inside the tire). The company was ordered by the NHTSA to issue a recall.

The Chinese government and the manufacturer have maintained that the tires in question meet or exceed U.S. standards.
1 New York Times, "China Didn't Check Drug Supplier, Files Show," February 16, 2008.
2 On October 15, 2008, the Chinese government issued an urgent notice to recall all dairy products made prior to September 14, 2008, so that they could be tested.
 

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued alerts and announced voluntary recalls by U.S. companies on numerous products made in China in 2007. From January-December 2007, over four-fifths of CPSC recall notices involved Chinese products. Over this period, roughly 17.6 million toy units were recalled because of excessive lead levels. Recalls were also issued on 9.5 million Chinese-made toys (because of the danger of loose magnets), 4.2 million "Aqua Dots" toys (because beads contain a chemical that can turn toxic if ingested) and 1 million toy ovens (due to potential finger entrapment and burn hazards).3 From January 1 to December 2, 2008, around 2.5 million toy units from China were recalled due to lead.

Table 1 lists products imported from China in 2007 that have been the subject of recent U.S. health and safety concerns, such as toys, seafood, tires, animal foods, organic chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and toothpaste. It indicates that China was a major source of imports for many of these products.

For example, China was the largest supplier of imported toys (89% of total), seafood products (15%), and tires (26%); the 2nd largest foreign supplier of animal food products (24%); the 6th largest supplier of toothpaste (1%); and the 9th largest source of imported pharmaceuticals and organic chemicals (3%). The table also indicates that, despite health and safety concerns, U.S. imports of most of the products listed (with the exception of toothpaste) increased in 2007 over 2006 levels. For example, toy imports from China grew by 33.4%.3  For a list of company recalls of Chinese products, see the CPSC website at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html. 4 For an overview of issues concerning U.S. food imports from China, see CRS Report RL34080, Food and Agricultural Imports from China, by Geoffrey S. Becker.

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