Hu JinTao is welcome to bring cash, but if he has any White Rabbit candy in his carry-on luggage he’ll have to eat them before the plane lands in Washington for the G20 summit on Nov15.  

The NYTimes wrote about new product testing in the 11/13 edition, titled F.D.A. Detains Chinese Imports for Testing:

Candy, snacks, cereal and any other products from China that contain milk will be detained at the border until tests prove that they are not contaminated, the federal government announced Thursday…

The F.D.A. routinely blocks imports of individual food products, but it is rare for the agency to block an entire category of foods from a particular country. Last year, the F.D.A. blocked five types of farm-raised seafood as well as vegetable protein from China because of repeated instances of contamination from unapproved animal drugs and food additives.

“It’s going to jam the ports up all up the supply chain,” said Mr. England, who represents food supply companies.
…
As a result of the earlier alerts on seafood and vegetable protein, most private laboratories that perform product tests for melamine already have long waiting lists, Mr. England said. And the F.D.A. takes three to four weeks to review submitted tests, Mr. England said.

The effect of the alert will probably be long-lasting, Mr. England said, because importers must prove that each and every shipment is free of contamination.

“It’s impossible to get off the alert list,” Mr. England said.

There are a few warning signs here. 

1) The US FDA will see this as a China problem that requires a China solution – namely targeting all Chinese imports with specific inspections and tests.  The Chinese will almost certainly see it as aggressive trade tactics – particularly after Chinese authorities have already taken some kind of action (regardless of what that action is). 

2) It could turn into an accretive regulatory nightmare, with one set of contradicting standards and regulations overlaid upon another every time a new safety concern arises.  This is compounded if testing labs can’t handle the workflow and there are long delays.  Chinese customs may reciprocate. 

3) If the flow of Chinese imports into the US is seriously crimped, look for “unfair product standards” to become the Chinese trade battle-cry, just as US protectionists once tried to link “unfair human rights standards” to trade status (remember MFN debates)?   Proponents of tougher Chinese product standards and broader enforcement clearly have a point – but they had better realize how political the topic can become.  Hopefully, they will cover their bases and do a comprehensive review on the safety and qualify standards of imports from other countries as well.   They should also make sure that their new regs are enforceable and streamlined.