Forget ‘Bra Wars’, the latest trade war to hit China is a recent dispute with South Korea concerning pickled vegetables. Dubbed the ‘Pickle War’, it has soured relations between the two countries over recent weeks. The issues surround supposed lead contamination and possible parasite infestation in the product which is very popular in Asia and the Far East. The products are mostly made in China but exported to South Korea. South Korea has reacted by sending officials to China to carry out further tests. There was initially no comment from Chinese authorities and exports have continued despite the controversy. Many of the companies making the pickled vegetables are Korean firms operating in China and authorities eventually released statements saying that South Korean inspectors were “too critical” of Chinese products in general, but initially did not deny there may be a problem. This is not the first time the two countries have been involved in trade disputes. In 2000 there was a bitter dispute over the so called ‘Garlic War’. South Korea imposed a 300% tariff on garlic imports from China which were flooding the market. China reacted by cutting mobile phone imports from South Korea but compromises were eventually realized. [Reports: Xinhua News Agency / PCNE / CNN /China.org ]
[12:57 GMT 04/11/2005]
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