Every year, there are three million shipments of cosmetic products that pass through U.S. ports and onto our store shelves. The problem is that there are only six inspectors for all of those shipments, which means that .3% of them are ever inspected. Products like tattoo ink that goes under the skin and lipstick that could be ingested fall under “cosmetics,” and products could be dangerous. [More]
imports
5 Reasons People Are Suddenly Concerned About Brazilian Beef
By 3.22.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Are you having beef for dinner? Do you know where it came from? No, not the grocery store down the street, but where the cow was raised? Most of us probably can’t answer those questions, and that’s a growing concern for health advocates, retailers, and lawmakers amid reports that some meatpackers in Brazil — one of the world’s largest exporters of beef — are shipping out rotten, salmonella-tainted beef. [More]
Tax Proposal Could Result In Higher Prices On Toys
By 1.11.17
Lawmakers are currently mulling over a proposed tax code overhaul intended to reduce the tax burden on U.S. companies that could also have the net result of raising prices on the products those companies manufacture overseas, a change that could hit toy companies particularly hard. [More]
Here’s Why You Won’t Find Aggressive Discounts On Subarus
By 6.3.16
Have you noticed that your local Subaru dealer probably doesn’t offer deep price cuts and entertaining promotions to get customers in the door. like the sellers of other automboile brands? That’s because Subaru has a problem that most businesses would love to have: people are buying their cars as quickly as they can make them. It means that dealers have to hope that customers won’t walk away and buy another brand when the model they want is out of stock. [More]
West Coast Port Workers Have Contract, Backlog Will Take 2 Months To Clear
By 2.23.15
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association have come to an agreement over a new five-year contract for port workers. This ends their nine-month dispute and a slowdown of traffic at ports that has affected everyone from auto workers in Ohio to fast food fans in Venezuela. The U.S. Secretary of Labor stepped in to help the two sides come to an agreement, and now everyone is working hard to clear the backlog. [More]
Secretary Of Labor Hopes To End West Coast Ports Gridlock
By 2.17.15
Today, workers at the major sea ports on the West Coast report back after a split four-day weekend. Contract negotiations between the union and a trade organization that represents shipping companies have continued for nine months, and the U.S. Secretary of Labor is joining the negotiations today before the slowdown has worse effects on the global economy. [More]
West Coast Ports Shut Down Entirely This Weekend
By 2.9.15
The backlog of unloaded cargo shops on the West Coast of the United States has had some odd effects on the world. We’ve pointed out some small, sometimes amusing issues: Asian automakers must use air cargo to ship needed parts to their factories in the U.S., and McDonald’s Japan airlifted emergency fries as it deals with a shortage. Yet all this hilarity could have serious consequences for the American economy if the current issues continue. [More]
Deal With Hershey’s Puts An End To Import Of Cadbury Chocolates
By 1.26.15
It will soon be more difficult for consumers who prefer the taste of British-made chocolate to get their sweet-tooth fix. A new deal between Hershey’s and Let’s Buy British Imports essentially puts a stop to the import of many iconic British chocolate brands from overseas. [More]
Really Cheap Tires? Surprise: They Might Be Risky Counterfeits
By 11.17.14
Everyone knows that the “genuine designer handbag” going for $20 from a street vendor is neither genuine nor designer, and indeed may not even hold up as a bag. But when you go to a reputable retailer and spend what it costs to replace the tires on your car, you expect to get what the real goods. Alas, Consumer Reports has found: just because there’s a brand name you know on the outside of a tire, doesn’t mean you’re getting what you should be. [More]
FDA Green Lights Imports Of Cancer Drugs To Ease Shortages
By 2.22.12
Of all the agonies that confront cancer patients, an unnecessary shortage of drugs they need must be among the more frustrating. The Food and Drug Administration is showing some compassion for the sick by easing import rules for two crucial cancer drugs in order to bulk up supply. [More]
That Honey In Your Cabinet Probably Isn't Honey
By 11.9.11
Most of the honey on store shelves isn’t the genuine article. This according to testing findings, which found that most products labeled as honey are actually flower nectar with pollen filtered out. This filtering process disqualifies the product form passing most worldwide quality standards. [More]
Buy Your Giant Snakes While They're Still Affordable
By 1.21.10
Wired reports that the government is considering a ban on the import of Burmese pythons and eight other “injurious species” of snake, because loser pet owners in Florida keep releasing them into the wild where they breed and take over. If enacted, the ban would only affect imports, not sales by breeders in the US, but prices will probably shoot up. [More]
RC2 Agrees To Pay $1.25 Million Over Lead Toys
By 12.29.09
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has just worked out another penalty settlement with a toy company over those lead-tainted toys that graced shelves from 2005 to 2007. Reuters says RC2 will pay a $1.25 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it “imported and sold Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys with paints and surface coatings that contained lead levels above legal limits.” About two years ago, RC2 settled a class-action lawsuit over the same toys. [More]
Watch Out For Fire Hazardy Knock-Off Christmas Lights
By 12.23.09
CBS’s The Early Show aired a segment last Friday about counterfeit holiday lights and extension cords, mostly from China and mostly available at dollar stores, that can cause fires. The problem is that the manufacturers use shoddy materials, and sometimes even fake UL stickers, to give the impression that they’re following safety guidelines. You find out they’re not when your tree goes up in flames. [More]
Gibson CEO Takes Leave Of Absence From Rainforest Group While Feds Investigate Imported Wood
By 11.19.09
When agents raided Gibson Guitar’s manufacturing facility earlier this week, some articles pointed out that the company’s CEO Henry Juszkiewicz was on the board of the Rainforest Alliance, a group that certifies businesses to sell their goods under an environmentally sustainable label. Now the group has postponed its annual certification of Gibson Guitars, and Juszkiewicz is temporarily stepping down from the board.
Feds Raid Gibson Guitars
By 11.18.09
Yesterday, US Fish & Wildlife Services agents issued a search warrant on Gibson Guitars’ manufacturing plant in Nashville, TN. The Nashville Post writes that they “seized wood, guitars, computers and boxes of files from Gibson Guitar’s Massman Road manufacturing facility.”
U.S. Balks At Prospect Of Imported Chinese Chickens
By 7.12.09
China is itching to sell their processed chickens directly to the U.S. market, an idea that doesn’t exactly thrill our regulators or representatives. Congress banned the import of processed Chinese chickens in 2007, ruffling Beijing’s feathers to the point where they’re now considering a retaliatory ban on U.S. chickens. Since we’re in a recession and Congress doesn’t want domestic chicken exporters to lose over a half-billion dollars next year, they may let the Chinese chickens come here to roost.
Mattel Will Pay $2.3 Million Penalty For All Those Lead Toys
By 6.6.09
Remember back when lead toys were all the rage? Oh, those dangerous days, when you couldn’t lick a Dora the Explorer doll without fear of memory loss! Well, Mattel and the Consumer Prouct Safety Commission (CPSC) have reached an agreement on how much Mattel should pay for importing toys that exceeded U.S. lead safety guidelines, and the amount is $2.3 million. Maybe now the CPSC can use some of that money to grease the DC wheels and get their new chair nominee confirmed.
