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More safety issues with China imports

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  • More safety issues with China imports



    Looks like the whole 'make it at cheap as possible' thing is finally catching up. There has been a slew of problems lately... lead paint in toys, the antifreeze toothpaste, bad tires, and now contaminated fish. Pretty clear how there is total disregard for quality control over there.

  • #2
    But, hey! Money talks, you know..... .

    .
    Diplomacy, it's a way of saying “nice doggie”, until you find a rock!

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    • #3
      And where do many of the components in your computer come from?

      Maybe this is why I'm seeing so many stillborn or marginally operational motherboards lately. They ALL say "Made in China." Big names, too: Abit, Asus, MSI, Biostar. Right now I'm running an Abit AN7 that was made in Taiwan and it's rock solid.

      Kevin

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      • #4
        Yeah, weren't the majority of those counterfeit capacitors on motherboards and power supplies that failed/leaked from China also?

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        • #5
          don't forget the expoding tires
          Yeah, well I'm gonna build my own lunar space lander! With blackjack aaaaannd Hookers! Actually, forget the space lander, and the blackjack. Ahhhh forget the whole thing!

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          • #6
            We won't even mention all those broken condoms...
            “And, remember: there's no 'I' in 'irony'” ~ Merlin Mann

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            • #7
              Must've been made from the same material as those tires.

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              • #8
                I read an article last week that said that Wal-Mart cancelled it's fall 2007 clothing order from a company in China (because they overstocked) and it hurt their business bad (80% of that company's orders were from Wal-Mart). So a ban on China imports should have a pretty big impact on China's revenue and if that doesn't sound any alarms in China, than the U.S. should ban China imports all together! Cause to me 'cheap' means crappy (and not 'inexpensive'), which is what China is producing.
                Titanium is the new bling!
                (you heard from me first!)

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by ZokesPro View Post
                  I read an article last week that said that Wal-Mart cancelled it's fall 2007 clothing order from a company in China (because they overstocked) and it hurt their business bad (80% of that company's orders were from Wal-Mart). So a ban on China imports should have a pretty big impact on China's revenue and if that doesn't sound any alarms in China, than the U.S. should ban China imports all together! Cause to me 'cheap' means crappy (and not 'inexpensive'), which is what China is producing.
                  Far too easy to generalise. If such a ban took place, the USA would have virtually no electronics or electrical goods. Even the US manufacturers but their components from China, mostly good quality stuff.
                  Brian (the devil incarnate)

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                  • #10
                    If my cheap and close grocery store closed down how would I ever get food again? I would starve!

                    A sudden/immediate ban would be bad, but there are always alternatives. Maybe not something as massive as China, but in the long run it might even be better.
                    Q9450 + TRUE, G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2, GTX 560, ASUS X48, 1TB WD Black, Windows 7 64-bit, LG M2762D-PM 27" + 17" LG 1752TX, Corsair HX620, Antec P182, Logitech G5 (Blue)
                    Laptop: MSI Wind - Black

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                    • #11
                      The problem is that in general there is a total disregard for quality control over there, both on a company level and a government level.

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                      • #12
                        @Brian & Mehen: I understand what you mean. A ban on everything would be too extreme.

                        @rylan: Maybe the U.S. should find another source? Or have stricter regulations on Chinese imports? Maybe even impose an import tax (or a more hefty import tax)?
                        Titanium is the new bling!
                        (you heard from me first!)

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                        • #13
                          1. how would an import tax make chinese companies do better quality control?
                          2. why should it affect the chinese companies that make good quality products?


                          I think a big (edit: make that huge) fine on the importers if the products they import don't meet the safety (at the very least) standards would be a better solution...

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                          • #14
                            I'm all for more strict regulations on Chinese imports and the companies that manufacture the products, and even a flat tarrif on the same imports due to the control that the Chinese govt is doing with their currency to keep things less expensive.

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                            • #15
                              Even the USA has to pay lip service to WTO rules.

                              Rylan: that is not at all true. It may be true for cheap clothing, toys and other low-cost items where QC would cost more than the article is worth, but my personal experience with Chinese industry shows that the goods with a reasonable value added are every bit as quality controlled as elsewhere, and sometimes even with tighter internal rules.

                              I have seen (and photographed) high-tech equipment in Chinese factories that would make many Western factories green with envy. For example, the biggest TV tube maker in the world has a custom-made machine for cleaning the shadow masks (a very critical operation) that cost $7M. They have a reject rate on final inspection of <0.01%, with a zero fault on pixels. I doubt whether there are many (if any) TV tube makers elsewhere that can match that. At an LCD factory (when I was there, the biggest made was 26", much bigger now, of course), their permissible pixel fault rate was categorised: Class I had zero dead pixels; Class II had 3 max and Class III had 5 max. Class I was for export to major manufacturers, mostly Japanese. Class II was for low-cost foreign makers and class III was for the internal market. It is therefore false to say the Chinese have no QC.

                              As for the government, the federal structure in China is very loose and most control is at a provincial level. For example, I worked with SEPA, which dictated the rules for ozone-depleting substances, but it was the individual provincial governments that often dictated the transposition of these rules to district offices that didn't have a clue what they were all about. The result was that factories in large cities were generally compliant, but not those in smaller towns or villages. Central government have very few rules, mostly only those imposed by international treaties. Most of the companies I visited (in many provinces) were entirely self-regulated.

                              And don't think that Lego and other European toys are not made in China, either. After Lego won their IP case against a Chinese copycat, they are considering moving all their production there.
                              Brian (the devil incarnate)

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