...and how to protect yourself if something goes wrong.
Dan Harris at the China Law Blog explains the new rules of the blame game for U.S. and E.U. importers of defective products from China. The plaintiffs are not going to go after the Chinese supplier, and they're not going into a Chinese court.
What can an importer or retailer do to protect itself? Harris discusses researching the Chinese supplier, quality control, contracts, refusal to stay with under performing suppliers, insurance, and marketing. Not everything he tells his clients, but interesting: How To Protect Your Company From Bad China Product (June 6). Here's his point #2:
2. Quality Control. It is absolutely essential the Western purchaser of Chinese product take responsibility for quality control. Most Chinese products arrive in the U.S. or Europe already packaged for retail sale, making inspection outside China cost ineffective. In these situations, a statistically valid inspection system within China is critical for proving out the safety and quality of the product. For food and drug items, the Chinese government has its own effective inspection system, but to reduce costs, many Chinese suppliers intentionally avoid the Chinese government procedures. The Chinese government itself estimates as many as 50% of the food and drug items exported from China violate China’s own export rules. It therefore becomes your job to make sure your Chinese supplier is licensed both to manufacture the product you are buying from it and licensed to export it. It is also your responsibility to make sure the product you are buying went through proper Chinese government inspection before export.
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