Worried that the whole tainted export thing might further poison their image, China this week revoked the export licenses of 750 toy factories citing quality control problems. The move came just as the Senate Commerce Committee passed the CPSC Reform Act, which would strengthen domestic toy safety standards and impose penalties of up to $100 million on companies that sell dangerous toys.

Despite the announcement of the license suspensions, Chinese regulators said 99 percent of toy exports in southern Guangdong Province, near Hong Kong, met quality standards.

But those figures seemed contradictory; regulators in Guangdong said that they had visited over 1,700 facilities and that 764, more than a third, had their licenses revoked. Nearly as many were ordered to bring their factories up to quality standards.

The license revocations won’t affect the holiday season. Our manufactured toys are already gently floating over the Pacific and will arrive just in time to sneak under Christmas trees and Hanukkah bushes.

China still hasn’t addressed the rampant corruption at the local level that allows business to skirt regulations, nor have they reformed the nation’s regulatory system. This is just a random cracking of the whip to remind us that China still hasn’t forgotten about toy safety.

China Bars Exports by 750 Toy Makers [NYT]
(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.