This Week's Attitude
Made In America Dip Shouldn't Mean Reckless Product Safety
By Neil S. Friedman

I awoke this morning to an alarm clock (made in Japan). While a pot of coffee (made in China) was brewing, I shaved with an electric razor (made in Hong Kong) then dried off after a shower with towels from Bangladesh. I put on a shirt (made in Sri Lanka), jeans (made in Singapore) and athletic shoes (made in Korea).

After breakfast that included a slice of Canadian bacon cooked in an electric skillet (made in India), I sat down to pay some bills at a desk from Ikea (made in Sweden), using a calculator (made in Mexico). After setting my wristwatch (made in Taiwan) to a digital clock radio (made in India), I left for work in my car (made in South Korea), filled it with fuel (from Saudi Arabia) and spent most of the day working on a computer (made in Malaysia) and took photos with a digital camera (made in Germany).

Later, when I got home, I decided to relax, so I put on sandals (made in Brazil), poured myself a glass of French wine and turned on the TV (made in Indonesia) to watch the evening news, which featured an extended segment on why so many Americans can't find a decent job, before meeting friends for dinner at a Thai restaurant.

Products "Made in America" are hard to find these days. That label, nonetheless, does not guarantee a reliable product, which is substantiated by sporadic domestic automobile recalls. Accordingly, budget-conscious consumers seeking bargain basement prices, which sometimes leaves them with shoddy or, even worse, hazardous merchandise.

With this summer's recalls of toys, SpongeBob SquarePants journals and address books, there are renewed safety and health concerns about imported goods - especially those from China - whose exports are currently under intense analysis in the U.S., its biggest market. Not long ago Chinese imports included contaminated toothpaste, tainted seafood, potentially dangerous chemicals and drugs, as well as lethal dog food ingredients.

Just a few weeks ago, millions of Fisher-Price and Mattel dolls, cars and action figures - traditionally trustworthy until now - were reported to contain magnets that children might swallow, in addition to unsafe lead paint levels that can stunt the brain development of young children.

Over the weekend, a Fox News report claimed that over 80 percent of toys sold in the U.S. are made in China. However, the report also pointed out that U.S. businesses continually pressure Chinese manufacturers to maintain low prices. China appears to be complying with that mandate, resulting in the recent troubles.

More often than not when searching for good deals, thrifty consumers ignore labels and could care less about where a cut-rate product is made. That's why superstores, such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Target, thrive. They can offer low-priced goods from overseas that usually fall within a family's tight budget. If that same merchandise were made in America, prices for them would likely go through the roof.

In Third World countries, where the majority of our imports come from, workers are glaringly underpaid, overworked and lack benefits - like health coverage - that results in low-priced merchandise that reaps hefty profits for wholesalers.

Smart shoppers and hard-working consumers seek discounts and sales wherever they may be, but now, perhaps, they will be more alert about merchandise they purchase.

Thankfully, there have been few human health problems associated with Chinese imports, but in order to restore buyer confidence and sustain faith in government watchdogs, the Consumer Product Safety Commission must continue strict vigilance, oversight and inspection of imported products - particularly goods marketed for children - to reassure Americans they are operational and not potentially harmful.

Within a decade after World War II, Japan gradually emerged as a major product exporter - baby boomers may recall the boom of tiny portable transistor radios, like iPods, that fit in the palm of the hand - but xenophobia left many Americans skeptical of the products, not necessarily due to quality, but because they were made by a recent enemy responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of GIs.

There's even an urban legend that Japan renamed a town Usa so they could label exports bound for our shores, Made in USA, to trick unsuspecting American consumers looking for domestically produced goods. However, the town existed on Kyushu Island centuries before the myth evolved.

Japan is now one of the world's leading economic powers and recently became the top auto seller in the U.S., outselling Detroit's Big Three - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - which have suffered decreasing sales for years. Japan surpassed the American companies largely because they marketed better-made, reasonably priced cars that only require regular maintenance, yet hold up better than typical Chevys and Fords or other vehicles made in America.

Years ago, to counteract potential criticism, trade imbalance and allay any suppressed racist predisposition, the Japanese opened several U.S. plants where Toyotas, Honda and other "imports" are assembled and where car parts are manufactured.

The Chinese must quickly revive the trust of the world's consumers and realize that the standard for cheaper doesn't necessarily have to result in flawed products if they hope to reap sizeable profits for merchandise they sell during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

More importantly, bottom-line profits for goods - made in America or abroad - should never take precedence over product safety for people or pets.