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It is high time the US government did something about the safety issues with Chinese products. Agreed Chinese products are cheap but what value is money if it is going to cost lives?

The imminent economic slowdown is to a large extent because of outsourcing of manufacturing to China. If you go to any shop there is not a single item that is manufactured in USA today. While this is the age of globalization and one needs to accept the cheapest option but what use is this if people do not have jobs to buy goods. Besides, the main benefit of globalization is going to the rich business houses who are making a huge profit by selling cheaper Chinese products at higher prices in America.

The huge dependence of America on Chinese products has given the Chinese government an edge in the political arena. It has been able to hold America at gunpoint and dictate terms. The recent standoff between the Chinese authorities and the American navy is a moot point. American ships were not allowed to enter the Hongkong harbor even though it was a pre-scheduled stop. China knows that America dare not act against it because of its huge dependence on manufactured products.

The way Chinese production works is that work gets farmed out to smaller companies which in turn outsource it to still smaller companies. So even if the American company wants to ensure quality of production it can do so only at the level of its direct vendors. It is difficult to manage quality at the level of other vendor where appropriate quality standards are not followed. Naturally there is a deterioration in the quality of the products leading to considerable concern of safety for the end consumers.

We all know that the main attraction of Chinese products is their low cost of manufacture. It is slowly emerging that the low price is at the cost of quality and hygiene. It has been well documented that Chinese workers are working under extremely unhygienic conditions. Large numbers of workers are cramped into small rooms called factories which even basic amenities like toilets and sanitation. In order to get cheap products, America is funding a very low quality of life for Chinese workers.

While America is heavily dependent on China for manufactured goods, Europe is considerably less dependent. They manufacture their own goods and even though costs are high, atleast they have been successful in retaining jobs in their own countries.

Lastly, in the globalized world American companies should look at alternative countries like India, Brazil, South Africa which can provide cheap labor and low manufacturing costs. This will help to prevent a total dependence on China and avoid a fallout should there be a showdown between America and China.

Learn more about this author, Saurabh Pal.
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