[feedcomnet]

Nothing new here, someone asleep at the switch. This should not have happened.

Video at link!

The US Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on Tuesday on the issue of counterfeit electronic components found in US military hardware—mostly found in electronic systems of helicopters and airplanes.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Carl Levin says the Committee asked several large US defense contractors to identify cases of suspected counterfeit parts. The companies came back with a list of 18-hundred cases, covering one million individual parts.

[Sen. Carl Levin, Chairman, US Senate Armed Services Committee]:
“Of those 18 hundred cases, we selected about 100 to track backwards through the supply chain. So where do the trails ultimately lead? The overwhelming majority, over 70 percent led to China.”

On Tuesday the Chinese regime hit out at the accusations saying in a statement:

"The Chinese government has always paid a great deal of attention to, and has promoted, cooperation with relevant overseas bodies in the fight against counterfeits. This is universally acknowledged."

Yet the senators say the Chinese regime hasn’t cooperated. Staff members of the Armed Services Committee were denied visas to go to China to carry out their investigation and Levin’s contact with the Chinese Embassy in Washington led to a threatening response.

[Sen. Carl Levin, Chairman, US Senate Armed Services Committee]:
“Shortly after my letter, an official at the Chinese embassy told Committee staff, that if the results of the investigation were not positive, it could be quote ‘damaging’ to the US-China relationship.”

Senator John McCain, a ranking member of the Committee, quotes an investigation by which depicts the selling of counterfeit electronics as a widespread phenomenon in China.

[Sen. John McCain, Ranking Member, US Senate Armed Services Committee]:
“The garbage-strewn streets of Guiyu reek of burning plastic as workers in back rooms and open yards strip chips from old PC circuit boards. The components, typically less than an inch long, are cleaned in the nearby Lianjiang River and then sold from the cramped premises of businesses such as Jinlong Electronics Trade Center. A sign for Jinlong Electronics advertises in Chinese that it sells ‘military’ circuitry, meaning chips that are more durable than commercial components and able to function at extreme temperatures. But proprietor Lu Weilong admits that his wares are counterfeit. His employees sand off the markings on used commercial chips and re-label them as military.”

The Committee says Chinese authorities must shut down these counterfeit operations and are recommending a policy of inspections on all Chinese electronic products imported to the United States.

Like the recent Yuan bill that passed through the Senate, this proposal would add extra restrictions on Chinese imports to the US, a policy that would prove unpopular with the Chinese regime.


http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/sc...-hardware.html