Product Liability

After viewing the Chinese Imports & Food Safety video, consider whether U.S. retailers that utilize products or raw ingredients that are imported from China and are poorly regulated should be liable in tort for injuries to consumers who are harmed by those products. Answer parts a and b of the prompt.

For this part of the prompt, answer one of the following points:

If U.S. companies should not be liable, then they could be legally exempt from tort liability. Discuss the consequences of such a policy to U.S. consumers.

If the U.S. companies should be liable, then those companies would not be legally exempt from tort liability. Discuss the consequences of such a policy to U.S. businesses.

Regardless of your response to part a, assume that U.S. retailers do have legal liability for defective products. What steps could U.S. retailers and manufacturers take when using products imported from China that would minimize their liability exposure? For example, they could warn consumers about the potential, though speculative, dangers when using products comprised of poorly regulated ingredients or components. Given your strategy, what challenges would exist for U.S. businesses that implemented your strategy?

Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your fellow students' posts in a substantive manner. Some ways to do this include the following, though you may choose a different approach, providing your response is substantive:

Discuss the challenges that would exist if your employer (or a fictitious employer) were to adopt your classmate's strategy.