Re attempting to achieve a level playing field via tariffs: Theoretically possibly (e.g., calculate the additional cost in producing a ton of steel using strict environmental controls vs. no controls and add it to the 'dirty steel's' price), but it would 1) involve bureaucracy and 2) probably be illegal under current WTO rules. Economic tariffs rarely work; such artificial constraints on the supply-demand relation begat smuggling.
Two ways to level the playing field are via mutual trade agreements (the US Fair Trade agreements mentioned above on August 12) and by applying the laws of supply and demand. Consumers must demand safe products, safe food, clothing & other items produced in non-sweatshop conditions, quality metals, etc. The government of China is executing or imprisoning corrupt officials & businessmen (and publicizing such) and enacting safety measures out of economic self interest in preserving overseas markets (demand). People in China & India, etc., must demand clean water, clean air, safe mining conditions, safe buildings, better labor conditions & free speech (to ensure progress in all areas). Laws exist (the Chinese Constitution prohibits pollution) but aren't enforced; the government is a poor supplier. In many cases, the Chinese central government has lost control over local officials and is using the state (and foreign) media to encourage local populations' demands for safety, clean water, etc. Two examples:
Hopes dim for Chinese miners
More than 180 are trapped in a flooded work site in Xintai, where rain hampers rescue efforts.
August 19, 2007
“...According to government figures, 4,746 people were killed in 2,845 mining accidents in 2006, an average of nearly eight incidents a day.
Most deaths occur at illegal digs, and the number of accidents is believed to be higher than reported in government statistics. The Xintai mine operates legally. Officials said it was opened in 1957 and had a production capacity of 750,000 tons of coal annually.
Government officials have accused mine owners and managers of covering up accidents and have vowed to improve mine safety. The government has ordered the closing of 10,000 small mines this year; such small operations are more prone to accidents....”
The Green Leap Forward
Environmentalism is China’s fastest growing citizen movement. Beijing isn’t cracking down on these
new activists—it’s empowering them.
By Christina Larson, Washington Monthly
Chinese environmental groups publish a “China Water Pollution Map (
a free online database that allows users to access information about water quality in their region. The site also publishes a list of factories that violate national environ- mental standards—including many state-owned enterprises.
In most other spheres, Beijing’s government remains intolerant of this sort of scrutiny and criticism. It silences journalists deemed overly energetic in their investigations of official malfeasance; it jails human rights activists and religious leaders whom it sees as subversive...
Not only is China’s emerging environmental movement tolerated by the central government; for the most part, it’s encouraged. More than 3,000 groups like Green Camel Bell currently operate in China, constituting the largest and most developed segment of the country’s budding civil society....
More important, environmental problems now threaten the sustainability of China’s economic expansion. Already the costs of environmental cleanup, property damage, and lost productivity are staggering. China’s State Council, the nation’s highest administrative body, reported that pollution cost the country more than $200 billion in 2005, almost 10 percent of the country’s GDP...
The country’s deputy environmental director, Pan Yue, has warned, “China’s economic miracle will end soon because the environment can no longer keep pace.”
Even more troubling, the effects of pollution—poisoned water and contaminated fields—are provoking riots in the countryside...The dilemma is enforcement....Although laws are promulgated in the capital, provincial authorities are responsible for implementing them. But provincial governments depend on tax revenue from local industries, so shutting down polluters often runs counter to their interests...China has numerous national laws that sound wonderful on paper but can’t be enforced....More than 4,000 rogue mines leach mercury into the soil. An estimated one in five power plants operate illegally—enough to fully power the United Kingdom...To deal with this predicament, Beijing has invited help from an unexpected corner: civil society. Citizen groups can help spread information, provide oversight, and put some pressure on local authorities...
To a great extent, then, hope for a cleaner earth lies with the ability of
China’s unlikely bedfellows, its mandarins and its environmentalists, to make this experiment work.”
So, leveling the playing field largely consists in raising the living, working and environmental standards in countries where they are now substandard. Although, President Bush has tried scuttling the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, since 2001 claiming the public interest is best served by voluntary standards, i.e., Caveat emptor! Good parents will obviously test everything their children eat or touch or play with.
Gaping holes in product safety net
August 19, 2007
“...As of Jan. 15, the commission lacked a quorum and was restricted from taking action on regulatory matters or civil penalties. In March, Bush nominated Michael Baroody, a top manufacturing-industry lobbyist, to serve as chairman and thus oversee regulation of the business that for years provided him with a livelihood.
Baroody withdrew from consideration for the post in May, just one day before his Senate hearing was to have taken place. He'd been asked by senators to provide copies of his severance agreement with the National Assn. of Manufacturers. [It included a payment of $150,000; a
quid pro quo is rumored involving his return after a 3-year term. Baroody was opposed by every consumer, public interest and medical group, e.g.,
]
No other nominee is in sight. It's been seven months since the Consumer Product Safety Commission has had full and continual authority to levy fines or force a recall...”
