The Case of ‘Made in The U.S.A.- Dumped in Brazil, Africa, Iraq…’ brings up the controversial issues of dumping, a term that refers to the practice of exporting to other countries products that have been banded or declared hazardous in the United States.1 Is it moral to dump U.S. banned products overseas? Both the manufactures and the consumers have valid arguments. As a consumer of these dangerous products being dumped on overseas markets one could argue the manufacturers lack of respect for life. It should be in the company’s best interest to take in consideration the health and safety of people and animals. These manufactures are knowingly making dangerous and even deadly products available to communities in third world countries. DowElanco sold its weed killer Galant in Costa Rica, although the Environmental Protection Agency forbade its sale to U.S. farmers because Galant may cause cancer.2 These companies need to take in consideration the burden/ benefit factor; the safety of others should be more important than the profit losses. It is clear that these manufacturers are not interested in the sustainability of our own bioregion. While dangerous pesticides are banned from the U.S. for containing deadly poison dioxin, the active ingredient in Agent Orange, these pesticides are routinely used in agriculture overseas.3 These toxic products are making their way back into the U.S. market trough the exporting of produce from Mexico to the United States. Most of the time the countries accepting U.S. banned products are unaware of their harmfulness. Manufacturers that dump products abroad are motivated by profit, and the hope of avoiding financial losses resulting from having to withdraw a product from the U.S. market.4 Some companies see dumping as a last resort in order to ensure sustainability and avoid millions of dollars in losses. Dumping is an issue of equity/ justice; individual governments are free to establish their own standards of public health and safety. In some cases, having risky products is still better than nothing at all. It is not our government’s responsibility to weigh out the burdens and benefits for other countries. Foreign countries
