Behind Mattel's Apology to China

Mattel orchestrated a series of apologies this week -- to Congress, to the American people -- but none more odd, memorable and telling than its apology to China -- the whole of it, each of the 1.3 billion it had offended by maligning the good name of its manufacturing prowess. To be sure, the bulk of Mattel's recalls this summer resulted from its own design flaws -- resulting in too-small magnets that were a swallow hazard. But 2 million of the toys it recalled were unsafe because they were coated with lead paint, which if children are exposed in doses that are high and prolonged enough, can result in permanent brain damage.

Mattel takes responsibility for failing to oversee its sub-contractors in China. Good. It should, as should all U.S. companies doing business in China, or any other country -- no matter where around the world their products are sold. In a global economy, it is the global corporations that have responsibility for their own products, and U.S. companies -- particularly -- should strive to be leaders, following at the least their nation's standards. And that's where the rest of the responsibility comes in. In both China and the United States, standards and the enforcement regime to back them up, need strengthening. In China, its burgeoning manufacturing sector needs some policing -- just as the American manufacturing sector did in its infancy. And in the United States, this unprecedented era of global trade requires a much more thoughtful and aggressive approach to enforcement of standards. Thankfully, the Bush Administration has started to formulate a policy that purports to stop bad products before they leave foreign shores, since it can't possibly inspect everything that washes ashore.

Both the Food and Drug Administration and -- now, finally -- the Consumer Product Safety Commission -- have admitted they're not up to that task, given their current configurations and/or resources. Congress and the president need to find a way to equip them -- and their sister agencies -- so they're strong enough to do their jobs in a 21st century economy.

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