by Jayne Webb

Created on: September 02, 2009

While certainly U.S. companies and consumers of Chinese exports are intrinsically responsible for unsafe working conditions in China, the question is: how do we hold them responsible or to account in way that generates positive change? Tricky. The notes China holds on the U.S. national debt and the hefty trade imbalance at time when the American economy is in recession make governmental action risky. Imagine, worst case scenario, following something like a limited embargo: tensions flare, the notes become weapons, and economics propel the U.S. and China into a new version of "cold war." Companies literally and figuratively making a killing are unlikely to engage in substantial voluntary action. And, the consumer has grown ever more dependent on cheap imports.

The American story is a familiar one throughout ailing communities across the nation. Consumers want more and more, cheaper and cheaper goods. Mega-retailers like Wal-Mart, in an effort to lower prices, strong-arm manufacturers to move to less expensive operating environments. U.S. manufacturing plants close, the former middle-class workers become unemployed or underemployed now working for minimum wage, so prices must be lowered still more because consumers have less income. The exponentially spiraling, self-perpetuating cycle creates economic disaster.

The reasons for China's export advantages, such as currency valuation and reported export subsidies in blatant violation of the WTO, are numerous. But, specifically, in the absence of sufficient regulatory oversight and with no real tort system, combined with a history of flagrant human rights violations, working conditions in China are doomed to be toxic. Not only are the conditions unsafe for workers, the residual impact of industrial water and air pollution, as well as hazardous materials (like lead in children's toys), risk still more lives. China is in many ways a victim of its own success. Amid an enormous population, rapid industrialization and development have outpaced the ability to responsibly respond.

Fortunately, the opportunity exists to offer carrots. Because productivity often decreases in sweat shop conditions, there is an economic incentive to improve working environments to the limited extent action would improve the bottom line. China is dependent on the U.S. marketplace to buy its exports. When the U.S. stops importing a product, Chinese factories close down and people are unemployed. Hence, there is also an economic incentive to deal

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