Obama calls for US ban on Chinese-made toys

Barack Obama, one of the frontrunners to become the Democratic candidate for president in next year's US election, said on Wednesday that he would ban all China-made toys following the safety scandals of the past few months. He admitted that this would involve shutting off the current supply channel for around 80% of America's toy imports, Reuters reported. Speaking at a rally in New Hampshire, a key battleground state, Obama also called for tougher inspections of goods imported from China. Citing the example of Japanese food safety inspectors that go to China and "make sure that every single bite of food that is sent from China has been tested," he called for the US to set up inspection facilities in the country. Several food safety agreements were signed at last week's US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, one of which could see US regulators set up an office in China and work on the ground with their local counterparts.