Senator accuses China of "honey laundering"

10/06/2010 12:00 - 451 Views

\\WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-Sino trade relations got even stickier on Wednesday after a senator accused China of "honey laundering" -- mislabeling its honey to avoid U.S. anti-dumping duties.

Politics

Senator Charles Schumer told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a watchdog panel created by Congress, that China was avoiding U.S. anti-dumping laws imposed years ago by shipping honey through countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
"We call it honey laundering," said Schumer, who frequently accuses China of manipulating its currency and other unfair trade practices. "Instead of simply selling their product in a fair and competitive way, the Chinese are using illegal, backdoor deliveries and mislabeling their product."

The practice deprives the United States of some $100 million to $200 million in duties and threatens the commercial viability of the U.S. bee population, which is needed to pollinate many crops, he said.

In a letter on Wednesday, Schumer urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to act on a 4-year-old industry request to establish a "federal pure honey standard."

That would promote truth in labeling and give U.S. authorities a basis for enforcement action against importers of mislabeled or adulterated honey, he said.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Bill Trott)

Wed Jun 9, 2010 2:00pm EDT

Source: www.reuters.com