Christmas Embargo: A Mom Bans China From Under the Tree
The house at the end of Park View Circle looks much the same as the others on the block: Wreath on the door. Lights on the trees. A reindeer on the lawn. Inside, though, a Christmas revolution is under way.
Peggy and Dave Smedley are attempting to celebrate the holiday in a manner almost unimaginable to most Americans -- without gifts made in China.
Their three children, fearing that they will be left with nothing but Pennsylvania coal in their stockings, await Christmas morning with more than the usual nervous energy. David Smedley, 13 years old, says he doesn't know what to expect "because I've never bought American before."
What David knows so far is that there will be no iPod, no digital camera and no table-top football game under the family tree this year. Still, the Smedley children have cautiously embraced their parents' campaign, which began when Ms. Smedley decided to strike a small blow in defense of American workers.
"China is really draining American manufacturing," says Ms. Smedley, 43, editorial director of Start, a magazine she and her husband publish with a circulation of about 85,000 manufacturing executives.
But until she hit the stores and started shopping, she says she had no idea how difficult it would be to steer clear of Chinese goods.
The Smedley home is decorated with two trees and a mantle full of Christmas figurines. The lights, ornaments and figurines -- mostly from China -- were purchased before her personal trade embargo began.
Ms. Smedley got the idea for a China-free Christmas while interviewing manufacturing executives for a book she wrote called "Mending Manufacturing," which her company published this year. She came to believe that China was destroying American jobs by suppressing the value of its currency. But that might change, she became convinced, if American consumers made it a point to buy American-made goods.
"I know that when you get on a soapbox people think you're losing it," she says. "But you really have to start somewhere."
Ms. Smedley began at the mall, where her shopping list, compiled from her family's holiday wishes, included a hand-held video-poker game, a baseball, boots, a coffee maker, a pair of Danskin leotards and martini glasses. She set out not only to avoid China but to buy American-made products whenever possible, no matter how much extra time, money and gasoline the effort required.
She didn't spend much time looking for the poker game because she guessed, correctly, that it would be made in China. She was surprised to strike out on the baseball. Rawlings makes its balls in Costa Rica, but most other brands come from China. She scratched the baseball off her list.
"It would be very expensive to play Little League baseball if the balls were made here," says Jim Hackett, the director of baseball and softball for Wilson Sporting Goods Co., which hasn't made a baseball in the U.S. for more than a quarter century. "It is very, very labor intensive. It takes an experienced worker 10 or 15 minutes just to sew the two pieces of the cover together."
Ms. Smedley went to five stores in search of American-made boots for her son Aaron before she found a pair made by Sorel of Portland, Ore. For David, who wanted brown Timberland boots, she went to 30 stores before giving up. A spokesman for Timberland Co., based in Stratham, N.H., says the company makes its boots in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, China, Thailand and Vietnam.
An American-made coffee maker also proved elusive, so Ms. Smedley settled for a Bunn brand machine from Canada. A week later, she found an American-made Bunn, at a slightly higher price, and returned the Canadian one.
Wal-Mart had only Chinese-made Danskin leotards, but Target had both Chinese- and American-made leotards for $14.99.
That turned out to be a stroke of luck. Carol Hochman, president and chief executive of New York-based Danskin Inc., says about 35% of Danskin-brand products are made in the U.S. But neither Wal-Mart nor Target sells the Danskin brand. Wal-Mart sells a brand called Danskin Now, which is made for a licensee mostly in China. Target sells a brand called Freestyle by Danskin, which is also made in China for a licensee.
A handful of American-made leotards might slip into those stores when a rush order is needed or when quotas from China have been met. But for the most part, Ms. Hochman says, American plants can't make leotards at prices low enough to satisfy most Wal-Mart and Target shoppers.
"People say they want to buy products made in America," says Ms. Hochman, "but most people aren't willing to pay for it."
With the martini glasses, Ms. Smedley was pleasantly surprised to find an inexpensive American-made set at her local Linens-n-Things household-goods store.
She found a Monopoly game that was made in the U.S., but the fine print on the box said that the dice were manufactured in China. She almost bought a stuffed dog from Eddie Bauer because the price tag said "Made in USA," but a closer look at the label attached to the animal told another story: "Made in China." A spokesman for Eddie Bauer says the tags were printed erroneously -- in China -- and will be removed.
Ms. Smedley said that online shopping was impossible because she couldn't make careful inspections of boxes and tags. An Italian-style imported leather coat might come from China rather than Italy. Most Web sites don't say.
"I would say that 80% of everything we looked at was Chinese," says Ms. Smedley.
"It's been tough, I'll tell you," says her husband, Dave, who works as chief financial officer of the couple's publishing company.
"Everything is made in China," adds her 9-year-old, Aaron.
The U.S. is expected to import about $190 billion of Chinese goods this year, up from $152 billion last year. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade gap with China is expected to top $160 billion this year, nearly double what it was in 2001.
A former trade official for China says the boycotting of China-made goods oversimplifies the complexities of global trade. The trade between the U.S. and China "brings mutual benefit, and America is the biggest beneficiary," says Zhou Shijian, who now coordinates research on the U.S. among state-backed academic institutions.
Not everyone in the family is supporting Ms. Smedley's quest. "I don't like whole China thing," says the Smedleys' 15-year-old daughter, Christina. "I don't care." Christina will be getting gift cards, so she can decide for herself whether to buy American.
Meanwhile, Ms. Smedley has settled on something less than romantic for her husband: a prepaid pass to pay his highway tolls.
"You just have to be creative," she says.
千件中国产品易得一件美国货物难求
座落在帕克维尤环形路尽头的这所房子看上去与街区里其他住宅并无多少不同之处：地上堆著花环，树上缀满彩灯，草坪上跑著驯鹿。然而，一次圣诞改革计划正在进行之中。
派吉(Peggy)和戴夫?斯梅德利(Dave Smedley)正在试图用一种几乎令大多数美国人无法想象的方式来庆祝圣诞节──不购买中国制造的产品作礼物。
由于担心自己挂出的袜子里除了宾夕法尼亚州的煤以外空空如也，在圣诞节的早晨，斯梅德利家的三个孩子等待礼物时的心情格外迫切紧张。13岁的大卫?斯梅德利(David Smedley)说，他不知道有什么可企盼，因为他从来没有买过美国制造的东西。
到现在为止，大卫知道的只是今年的节日里不会有iPod播放器，不会有数码相机，也不会有全家人一起玩的便携式足球游戏机。不过，斯梅德利家的孩子还是慎重地接受了父母的这次安排，此前斯梅德利太太决定为捍卫美国制造业对中国产品进行一次小小的出击。
43岁的斯梅德利太太说：“中国真的在让美国制造业枯萎。”斯梅德利太太是杂志Start的编辑部主任，这本杂志是她和丈夫面向制造业高层出版的，发行量大约85,000册。
但是她说，在走进商店开始购物前，她并不了解避免购买中国的商品有多么困难。
斯梅德利的家里摆放了两棵圣诞树，壁炉架上挂满了小雕像。彩灯，装饰品和小雕像绝大多数是中国制造的，这些东西是在她的禁购中国产品计划实施之前买来的。
“无中国制造品的圣诞节”这个念头，是斯梅德利太太为了撰写一本名为《修补制造业》(Mending Manufacturing)的书而采访制造业高层时产生的，该书将于今年出版。她从那时逐渐开始认为，中国正在压制人民币的价值，毁掉美国的工作机会，但她确信，如果美国消费者一心一意购买美国制造的产品，这种情况是可能改变的。
“我知道当你从一个肥皂盒做起时，人们会不以为然，但我必须从某一点开始做起。”斯梅德利太太说。
斯梅德利太太从到购物中心购物做起。她的购物清单中汇集了全家人过节时所渴望得到的礼物，包括一个掌上型纸牌游戏机，一个棒球，长统靴，一台咖啡机，一套Danskin紧身衣，以及一套马提尼酒杯。她不仅避免购买中国产品，而且是尽可能购买美国的产品，无论这种努力要耗费多少额外的时间，金钱和汽油。
斯梅德利太太没有花多少时间寻找纸牌游戏机，因为她猜想该产品应该是在中国制造的，而且她猜得没错。她还惊讶地发现，制造商Rawlings的棒球是在哥斯达黎加制造的，但大多数其他品牌的棒球都来自中国，因此她将棒球也从购物清单上划去了。
棒球和垒球公司Wilson Sporting Goods Co.主任吉姆?海克特(Jim Hackett)说：“如果用我们在美国制造棒球，打起少棒联邦(Little League)比赛来成本就太高昂了。”他所在的公司已经有二十五年以上的时间没有在美国制造过棒球了。“这是劳动极为密集的产业。一个熟练工人将两片皮子缝制在一起需要10到15分钟的时间。”
斯梅德利太太跑了五家商店，为儿子亚伦(Aaron)寻找产自美国的长统靴，最后选中了一双俄勒冈州波特兰Sorel品牌的靴子。大卫想要棕色的Timberland长统靴，而斯梅德利太太跑了30家商店，最终还是放弃了。位于新罕布什尔州Stratham的Timberland Co.发言人说，该公司的靴子是在波多黎各、多米尼加、中国、泰国和越南制造的。
美国制造的咖啡机也是可遇而不可求，因此斯梅德利太太只好退而求其次，购买了一台加拿大Bunn咖啡机。一周以后，她发现了价格略高一点的美国产Bunn咖啡机，就退掉了加拿大产的。
沃尔玛只出售产自中国的Danskin紧身衣，但Target店里中国和美国制造的紧身衣都有售，且售价都是14.99美元。
这可算得上是走运。位于纽约的Danskin Inc.公司总裁兼首席执行官卡罗.霍奇曼(Carol Hochman)说，Danskin的产品中大约35%是在美国制造的，但沃尔玛和Target都不出售Danskin品牌的产品。沃尔玛出售的品牌叫Danskin Now，是一家持有Danskin执照的公司在中国制造的。Target出售的品牌叫Freestyle，也是获Danskin批准在中国制造的。
当出现紧急订单或中国出口产品达到配额上限时，会有少量美国制造的紧身衣流入这些商店，但霍奇曼女士表示，大多数情况下，美国工厂无法以沃尔玛和Target商店购物者期望的低价制造紧身衣。
霍奇曼女士说：“人们说他们希望购买美国制造的产品，但大多数人却不愿意为此支付高昂的价格。”
在选购马提尼酒杯时，斯梅德利太太在家附近的Linens-n-Things日用品商店发现了一套价格低廉的美国产酒杯，可以说是意外的惊喜。
她发现了一套美国制造的大富翁(Monopoly)游戏，但盒子上小字注明骰子是中国制造的。她差一点在Eddie Bauer商店买下一个茸毛狗玩具，因为商品价签上写著“美国制造”，但再仔细一看贴在产品上的标签，写的是“中国制造”。Eddie Bauer发言人表示，该商品的确是中国制造的，他们将会更换打错的价签。
斯梅德利太太说，网上选购是不可能采用的，因为她无法对商品标明的产地进行仔细检查。意大利风格的进口皮衣可能来自中国而非意大利，而大多数网站并不说明这一点。
斯梅德利太太说：“我敢说，任何一种商品，有80%都是中国制造的。”
她的丈夫戴夫说：“我会告诉你，要购买美国制造的产品很困难。”戴夫在他们夫妻开办的发行公司担任首席财务官。
他们9岁的儿子亚伦补充说：“一切东西都是中国制造的。”
预计今年美国将进口约1,900亿美元的中国商品，高于上年的1,520亿美元。同时，预计美国和中国的贸易差额将突破1,600亿美元，是2001年的两倍。
中国前贸易官员周世建(Zhou Shijian，音译)说，对中国商品进行抵制，是将全球贸易的复杂性过份简单化了。美国和中国之间的贸易是互惠互利的，而且美国是最大的受益者。周世建目前协调国家支持的各个学术机构对美国进行的研究工作。
在斯梅德利家，并不是所有家庭成员都乐于响应斯梅德利太太的号召。15岁的女儿克里斯蒂娜(Christina)说：“我不在乎产品来自中国。” 克里斯蒂娜将得到的是礼品卡，因此她可以自己决定是否购买美国的产品。
同时，斯梅德利太太给丈夫的礼物也不那么浪漫，是一张预先付过费的高速公路通行证。
她说：“你只是需要有些创新。”
