The International Herald Tribune reports on negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials over import standards:
The discussions have apparently not been easy. As concern about the safety of Chinese products rose this year, U.S. negotiators said they found that the Chinese raised concerns of their own and began imposing new safety restrictions on food and other products, possibly in retaliation over the furor in the United States.
For example, China proposed extensive new inspections last summer for U.S. medical equipment like patient monitors and surgical implants but did not impose the same standards on domestic equivalents. The Bush administration cried foul and hopes to get the proposal revised next week. [Full text]
