Chinese Imports and Product Safety

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Unsafe tires. Tainted food and toothpaste. Millions of toys with lead paint and tiny magnets. The safety of those products is raising serious questions in the US and, with confidence in the label "Made in China" crucial to that nation's economic expansion, the international safety scare has caught the attention of Chinese officials. After medicines turned out to be fakes, the former regulator of food and drugs was executed.  After Mattel recalled millions of his products, a toy maker hanged himself.  Factories have been closed amid pledges that safety standards will be tightened. Are American companies as much at fault as their Chinese suppliers? Will consumers pay more for greater safety? What about Chinese consumers and the workers who deal with toxic substances? Is it possible to stop buying products made in China? We talk with a woman who tried it.

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Host:

Warren Olney