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When you start restricting trade with one-if not the greatest trade partner of the United States, you raise precedence to trade restrictions with other friendly countries. What's next, trade restrictions on English muffins? Canadian maple syrup? French wines?

Now I know safety is a concern on all imports, especially from over seas; you never quite know what labor standards the items are being made in. Are they being made by children sold into slavery? Are they being made by people oppressed by their own government? So I can understand why this question was raised.

Both the United States and China are a part of the World Trade Organization (WTO), so would it be possible for not only these two countries but other countries where product quality is a concern, to meet with the WTO in an effort to provide provisions within the WTO legislation to hopefully prevent this sort of thing from happening again in any other country.

If by chance, the United States, whether under the current Bush administration, or under the next administration, does decide to pass trade legislation, I believe it will only make diplomatic relations with China even more volatile than they already are. When George W. Bush met one on one with the Dali Lama, the Chinese government publicly condemned the act. The same thing happened the next day when the Tibetan leader met with the Canadian Prime Minister. If legislation was introduced by the US House of Representatives, who ever it is sitting in the Oval Office would need to say publicly that they would veto it. When you want and need China to keep an eye on North Korea's nuclear programs, why oh why would you irritate them more when you could simply go before the World Trade Organization to make international provisions. If the WTO were to hold a vote with its 140 countries on provisions, I would have to imagine that some if not all legislation brought forward would receive unanimous approval.

Something that I'm surprised we haven't heard discussed on the news, is why there are not other countries complaining of poorly made objects from China? Perhaps I'm pushing out conspiricy theories, but could there be a connection between the Buddhist leader meeting and this? I doubt it, but it does make you think.

Learn more about this author, Catlin Hogan.
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