Walmart is going all out for America, pledging to buy an additional $250 billion in American products. To that end, the world’s largest retailer will host a manufacturing summit next week where it will look for U.S.-made products to sell. The event starts three days after the Fourth of July and promises to be a star-spangled affair.
The American flag is waving. Oklahoma-born American Idol star Carrie Underwood, decked out in red, white, and blue clothing, is talking about the virtues of Revlon’s Almay line of makeup as her song “All-American Girl” plays in the background. Kids run through prairies, one child waving an oversized flag. There are puppies and more flags. “Almay Simply American,” Underwood says as the text “American Science” pops up on the screen before the commercial fades to black. You can’t get more American than that. Read more
When you walk into a restaurant, or a bar, whether you realize it or not, you judge the establishment based on your surrounding environment. Before you ever take a bite, or a sip, you naturally notice the decor, and make the decision – do I stay, or do I find somewhere else to go? Read more
A generation of economists trained to believe that trade had little to do with the long decline in high-paying U.S. factory jobs is changing its mind. Read more
In the latest food scandal to hit China, authorities have seized almost half a billion dollars worth of smuggled frozen meat, some of more than 40 years old. According to the state-run China Daily, customs officials have confiscated over 100,000 tonnes (110, 231 tons) of chicken wings, beef, and pork, and arrested gangs across 14 Chinese provinces attempting to sell the contraband. Read more
Some 800 tonnes of smuggled frozen meat have been seized by Chinese authorities, including one batch dating from the 1970s, state media reported.
July 30, 2014
McDonald’s restaurants in many Chinese cities have been eerily quiet this past week. Many McDonald’s addicts have been forced to go cold turkey as numerous branches have yanked flagship burgers off the menu amid a tainted meat scandal.
The fast food giant is enormously popular in China where it has 2,000 outlets, each one typically overflowing with hungry crowds. Read more
Last fall, Wal-Mart promised to purchase $250 billion in Made in USA products by 2023, a move it said would create 1 million U.S. jobs over time. Two-thirds of the goods in its domestic stores are already made, sourced, assembled, or grown in the United States, the company added. Read more
Made in America – Most Americans love the idea of buying a Made in USA product instead of an import. But sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not. Read more
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday handed President Barack Obama the biggest legislative victory of his second term, with a dramatic vote clearing the way for major trade agreements with Pacific Rim nations and the European Union. Read more
The thousands of products that pass through Consumer Reports test labs each year come from all corners of the globe. There are washing machines and water heaters from Mexico, TVs and refrigerators from South Korea, dishwashers and vacuums from Germany. We see lots of appliances that are made right here in the U.S. too, of course. Every country has winners and losers when it comes to quality and performance. Read more
An Arizona family won a $435,000 judgment in federal court after a child swallowed a decorative bead coated with a chemical that metabolized into a date-rape drug when ingested, marking the first verdict of its kind in the nation over the toy. The toy was made in China. Read more
Aug. 14, 2008
From lunchboxes and backpacks to baby cribs and toy figurines, a lengthy effort to make children’s products safer has finally cleared the final hurdles. New toy safety standards become law. Read more
KENTWOOD, Mich. (WZZM) – A toothbrush company that outsourced some of its manufacturing to China years ago is bringing work back to West Michigan. Read more
Some of the most popular American corporations are importing shrimp at super-cheap prices from Thailand, where migrant workers are in slavery, like in Nazi Germany, being tortured while they work for no pay 20 hours a day. How much shrimp is being imported that’s processed by slaves, including child slaves? Walmart and Costco are contributing to the chaos, buying and selling shrimp exported from Thailand every year, and it’s slave-labor shrimp at “rock bottom” cost. No wonder Walmart and Costco are such “successful” businesses. What else are they buying that’s made by slaves who are tortured mentally and physically while working 20-hour days for zero pay? Wine, maybe?
The House of Representatives has voted to repeal country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for beef, pork, and chicken. Read more
Guest post by Monica Gomez
America has always been known as the “land of opportunity.” But opportunity doesn’t knock unless you work hard for it. While tycoons and businessmen may have shaped the oil, steel, and auto industries, the reality is many of them came from humble beginnings, and worked alongside the skilled tradesmen they later employed before amassing their own wealth—a true testament to the power of the American dream. Read more
