We have watched the hollowing out of our great American manufacturing base, the outsourcing of production to countries like China and the downward pressure on our wages and living conditions. Bad "free trade" deals have lowered US standards and harmed workers and the environment here and also in countries like China, where corporations exploit sweatshop conditions.

Toxic imports, like lead paint in toys, are the result of trading with much lesser-developed countries which have no incentive to raise safety, labor or environmental standards.

Cheap goods from countries like China have an expensive price. Right now we are paying that price through our loss of jobs and the increasing safety risks of imported goods.

But, who really should pay that price? If US corporations are experiencing increasing profits, is it right for us to pay the price for their profits?

Who should pay? The American consumer? Or, instead, the profitable U.S. company that makes, imports and sells these inferior goods?

Up until now, American corporations have claimed that it's China's fault. But, it's not. There's no way we can hold the Chinese government responsible for what an American company manufactures in China.

When American companies make their toys in China and the inferior or toxic toys are sold to American children, the American companies must be held accountable for the toxicity.

We must hold the American companies responsible for the goods and foods that they make overseas or import into the United States.

Previous posts at this site have shown us that Americans have been put in danger from the goods and foods from China - from products such as tainted toothpaste, fish loaded with antibiotics, counterfeit food, and food adulterated with chemicals.

Why are we allowing unregulated, potentially unsafe and uninspected imported food products to be offered to the unsuspecting and trusting American public? Have we lost the will to minimally protect ourselves?

(Simply Profitable, Simply Wrong)

Boric and benzoic acid, industrial dyes, fertilizers and pesticides, antibiotics, bad oil and sulfur dioxide are among the substances found in fresh and packaged foodstuffs throughout Asia.

You have no doubt heard of the millions of toys that were recalled before Christmas because of lead paint. In the past year, we have also seen:

• As many as 200 babies died in China as a result of being fed counterfeit baby formula obtained from at least five Chinese food wholesalers.
• Forty-six barrels of diethylene glycol (a deadly poison normally used as anti-freeze and as an industrial solvent) were fraudulently exported from China as 99.5% pure glycerin, a harmless syrup commonly used in the manufacture of many foods, drugs, toothpaste and other products.
• An American recall of 1.5 million Thomas the Tank Engine toys in June last year, more than 6 million toys have been recalled for high levels of lead.
• As many as 450,000 passenger tires made in China and sold in America were recalled because of a blowout risk of car crash.
• Over the counter drugs made in India and China that were not approved for human consumption that have made their way onto shelves in the US, including children's medicine.
• Hollow structural steel imported from China used in the construction of American skyscrapers and power plants has been called into question by construction firms and industry organizations for allegedly failing to meet mechanical specifications.
• As many as 295,000 sets of Chinese-made malfunctioning car fuses sold in the US were recalled because they could cause damage to electrical systems in automobiles.
• Peas from China that were tainted by pesticides.
• Dried white plums from China containing banned additives.
• Pepper from China contaminated with salmonella.
• Mississippi and Alabama recently banned all imported catfish from China after their tests found ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin, antibiotics forbidden from use in food in the United States.
• The European Union stopped shipments of Chinese shrimp because of banned antibiotics.
• Japan blocked tea and spinach from China, citing excessive antibiotic residue.
• South Korea banned fermented cabbage from China after finding parasites in the shipments.

Wal-Mart is China's number one importer. In the past year more than 20 products made in China and sold at Wal-Mart were so dangerous they had to be pulled from Wal-Mart's shelves.

Cheap imports should not drive our trade policy any more. We must not throw away our consumer protections for health and safety. And it should not be acceptable for us to have imports made with child or slave labor, or that harm the environment simply because they are cheaper to produce.

We are paying too high a price for cheap imports.

Our very safety and health is threatened by toxic imports.

The time is now to change course and insist that trade deals bring standards up everywhere for product safety, labor and the environment; not down.

I hope that, as a nation, we haven't also lost the will to protect our food supply.

Something must be done about this, right?

The Food and Product Responsibility Act has been introduced by Senator Brown (D-OH) in the Senate and by Representative Visclosky (D-IN) in the House.

• The bill shifts the risk of harm to the public from toxic imports where it belongs – on the backs of the companies producing the goods and the importers bringing them here.
• It requires that importers get insurance to cover the full cost of any potential recall of the goods they import that would cause serious harm to the American public.
• The bill also requires that insurance be sufficient to cover claims for damages when individuals are harmed, maimed or killed by a toxic import.
• The bill covers a wide array of products, including consumer goods, drugs and medical devices, tire and replacement motor vehicle equipment, and poultry, meat and egg products.

Our children should be the top priority of our government. We must put an end to unregulated toxic trade that is threatening our families with everything from lead-laced baby bibs and toys to toxic tooth paste.

We need tougher trade laws that not only safeguard consumers but protect our jobs.

We need to stop toxic imports from ending up on our store shelves and in our homes. We need a strong Consumer Product Safety Commission and other regulatory agencies in North America to inspect the imports flooding our countries.

And we want corporations to be held accountable if they put profits over our families’ health and safety.

Tell both of your U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative in Congress that you want our government to take action to ensure the the health and safety of our children and our families. If you don't know who your congressmen, congresswomen or senators are, click here to find them quickly.

Please contact these three important people and tell them you want them to support the passing of the The Food and Product Responsibility Act.