Tomorrow Trump leaves on a 12‑day Asian tour. One of his stops will be in China, where he has a chance to stand up for American citizens that he noted during his presidential campaign were losing jobs because of China. Now he has the opportunity to hold China accountable for destroying American homes after the historic and violent hurricane season of 2005, and making sure that it does not befall homeowners again during the massive rebuilding following the horrific hurricane season that has devastated wide paths of America from Houston to Florida to the Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico.
Hurricanes descended on the Gulf Coast of America in 2005 with a fury and violence that all but destroyed New Orleans. From Hurricane Dennis to Katrina to Rita and Wilma, from Louisiana to Florida, over 2,000 people died and thousand upon thousands of properties were destroyed. The economic costs were 160 billion dollars.
Naturally, builders began to experience a domestic shortage of building materials including drywall. In order, to meet the high demand and get people back into their homes, builders looked to other countries, namely China for the drywall.
Unfortunately, shortly after moving in, many homeowners noticed a persistent rotten egg smell. Others experienced that their brand-new appliances such as air‑conditioning units and refrigerators suddenly stopped working. And after installing several replacements that failed, the appliances were taken apart. Homeowners discovered black and corroded wiring and pipes in their appliances—and throughout their homes. All too many homeowners developed health issues like asthma, breathing difficulties, chronic headaches, eye irritation and nosebleeds.
What no one knew at the time was that a silent and equally destructive storm emanating from China’s factories swept into the homes being rebuilt in the form of contaminated building materials including contaminated drywall, and pressure treated wood, laminate to be exact that emitted formaldehyde gas.
All of the contaminated drywall was traced back to one gypsum mine, a primary component of drywall in China. Apparently, the chemical composition caused the drywall to emit sulfurous gas, which was made worse by the hot and humid climates of the Gulf Coast and the East Coast. And once released, sulfurous gas built up in the walls of these homes, and reacted with certain metals thus causing wires and appliances to corrode.
And just as hurricanes had destroyed the walls of these homes, the only solution for the contaminated drywall was to rip down the walls once again. Because there is great difficulty in determining contaminated drywall from regular drywall, homeowners had no option but to remove all the drywall from their homes, down to the barest studs.
And it was not just replacing the contaminated drywall that confronted homeowners; they now had to replace the wiring, the pipes and the appliances. And the only way to access these wires and pipes was to open up the walls of the home yet again, which meant that the flooring, cabinetry, countertops, bathroom fixtures, etc. were all damaged and had to be replaced.
So people who just had their homes rebuilt after a devastating natural disaster that left them homeless for months all had to start the building process all over again. In 2009, homeowners began filing suit against the two companies that had manufactured the defective drywall using gypsum from the same mine in China. One of the companies--a German corporation that had bought drywall from the factory in China--quickly acknowledged their liability and responsibility and funded a remediation program to settle several thousand claims from homeowners.
The other manufacturer, Taishan Gypsum Company, Ltd. did the opposite. It first ignored the lawsuits from U.S. homeowners and then it challenged an American court’s jurisdiction. It has now been 10 years that Taishan Gypsum Company has been refusing to do the right thing for victimized homeowners. Why? Because this company is a subsidiary of a corporate family of companies called “State-owned enterprises,” which are under the control of the Chinese government. It claims the laws of the U.S do not apply to it. Quite extraordinary indeed.
To this day, thousands of American homeowners have yet to be compensated for the damage to their lives and to their property caused by the contaminated Chinese drywall produced by a company controlled by the Chinese Government. Overall damages from Chinese manufactured drywall could exceed $1 billion.
Many of these homeowners continue to pay a mortgage on their ruined homes in addition to rent for another place to live. Others held onto their homes for as long as they could until they were forced into bankruptcy, while others were forced to sell their homes for drastically less than the price that they originally paid. And worst of all, some owners simply had no other choice but to live with the contaminated Chinese drywall; these were people who lacked the money to rebuild their homes.
So now nearly 10 years later, the effects of the Chinese Government's contaminated drywall continue to plague American homeowners and their health and their property.
And still the Chinese-owned company refuses to take responsibility for exporting contaminated drywall to the United States thus causing even greater suffering--physical, mental and emotional--of American citizens.
This is very similar to the horrendous damage caused by pressure treated lumber, laminate to be specific. The laminate flooring contained toxic levels of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, measuring more than twenty times the acceptable limit. People were forced to remove the laminate flooring in their homes or continue to experience the effects of formaldehyde exposure, which could include respiratory issues, eye irritation, headaches, rashes and vomiting.
Today, the problem is the massive rebuilding needed from Texas to Florida to the Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, means that it is likely there will NOT be enough domestic building materials including drywall to meet the demand. So the conditions are once again ripe for the Chinese Government to flood America once again with defective building materials including drywall while still owing homeowners hundreds of millions of dollars.
In fact, Chinese-manufactured drywall can still be purchased online at Alibaba from the very company, Taishan Gypsum Company that refuses to take responsibility for their contaminated product and the defendant in the current litigation to seek justice and compensation for American homeowners. And it can be shipped to the United States for minimal cost claims the ad.
At the very least, homeowners and contractors and builders should be on high alert of any building materials being used in their homes from China.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
To prevent another silent typhoon from Mainland China destroying Americans' homes and health, the President should:
Direct the appropriate agencies to increase inspection standards of all building materials from China including drywall and pressure treated lumber before it is allowed into our country.
Require all Chinese companies and companies working with Chinese affiliates to furnish performance bonds before conducting business in the United States.
Require foreign companies, especially Chinese companies, to designate a United States representative to be responsible for their dealings within our country so that these companies can be held properly accountable under U.S. law and in U.S. courts.
Prohibit any new Chinese drywall from entering the country until government-owned Taishan Gypsum Company has settled all the homeowner claims against it still pending in federal court. If this Chinese-owned company and the Chinese Government believe they're beyond the reach of the American Legal System, it's time for this administration, this congress to prove them wrong.
In fact, Representative Matthew Cartwright (D-PA-17), sought to accomplish most of these goals with House Resolution 3304, the proposed Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2015. It requires all foreign manufacturers designate a registered agent in the United States who could accept service on behalf of the manufacturer for any legal or regulatory proceeding to prevent foreign manufacturers like the Chinese-Government-owned Taishan Gypsum Company from profiting from Americans while simultaneously damaging Americans and avoiding accountability for their products here in the United States.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission is tasked with determining the admissibility of consumer products offered for import. So if necessary, and I believe strongly it is necessary right now, the CPSC has the authority to detain projects to determine the safety of products before they are distributed throughout the United States. But the CPSC is claiming, “It does not have the legal authority to perform premarket testing and approval of products!" I would submit that Americans' health, financial security, homes, and livelihoods give the CPSC exactly the legal, ethical and moral authority to protect Americans from yet a further invasion from the Chinese Government.
We are a country of laws. And that's why so many people come to America to both start businesses and to do business. If the Chinese Government and its state controlled company, Taishan Gypsum Company, Ltd. do not believe in the rule of law, then they should not be allowed to do business in America, much less dump dangerous and contaminated products affecting the lives of thousands and thousands of Americans.
Because when damaged or injured U.S. consumers try to hold Chinese companies or “State-owned enterprises” accountable by bringing claims under the laws of this country, laws which manufacturers here all must live by, the Chinese government has a track record of throwing up a modern-day Great Wall. They love doing business in our marketplace, but do not accept the legal responsibility that comes with it.
*Trump was quoted as saying: “Now, some people might call him the king of China. But he’s called president.”
Peter Emerson has several friends from Louisiana to Florida to Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands who suffered mightily during the recent violent hurricanes. And many also suffered a decade ago during the historic storms of 2005. Numerous stories have been reported to him by people still waiting to rebuild their homes, but have been unable to do so because of contaminated drywall from China. As a result, Peter began a personal investigation into what happened and what could happen again. The article above is the result of his inquiries.