Reference no: EM133402750

Question: The video "Chinese imports and food safety" identifies poor food and product safety regulations in China. Although U. S businesses are aware of these issues, they continue to import products and raw ingredients from China because prices are lower. Many companies import products from China to cut the cost of producing the product and therefore sell at a lower price allowing them to be competitive within the market. When businesses are aware of the poorly regulated products and the damages they can cause and yet choose to make a profit at the expense of the health of the consumer it is considered negligence. Therefore, I believe that companies that import products and raw ingredients from China should be liable for injuries to consumers who are harmed by those products. If the U.S. companies are liable, then those companies would not be legally exempt from tort liability and there would be consequences for US businesses. If the business is found guilty of violating a tort it could have to pay consumers and fines for considerable amounts of money. Such a policy could influence US businesses to stop importing products from China. However, buying within the US could cost more and drive the prices of the product up. Unfortunately, a company that can't find economically equivalent products may stop producing the product or even close down. Also, if US businesses knew that they could be held liable they would spend more on legal representation. US businesses would also seek stricter and more enforced regulations from China officials.

US businesses could label the products that are imported from China to minimize their exposure. The labels could serve as a warning, to keep consumers informed. This strategy can meet issues in being able to backtrack the product to put on the label. China doesn't enforce health and food safety regulations so providing accurate information about the product could be difficult.