So, are you arguing for the abolishment of consumer protections again, or just calling for such programs to be more efficient/effective?

You do not have a way to find out if that can of soup has Mercury in it. An agency has to police that for you.

This stinks!

Why in the world would bringing in 230 pounds of cheese be considered smuggling? The stuff is perfectly legal in the US.

Why in the world would bringing in 230 pounds of cheese be considered smuggling? -- mpetrie98 at January 10, 2013 6:04 AM

Because the government wasn't going to get it's cut of the tariffs for the importation. Even if it was sold in a grocery store, the fed wouldn't make any money off it.

Well, it makes perfect sense to impose some limit on the amount of cheese you can bring in. For all you know food safety standards in other countries are not as good as they are in the USA, so to protect consumers from smuggled goods and unregulated imports, you just set some limit on the amount of unregulated stuff you bring in the limit being a very high amount for an individual or a family. I don't see what the hell is the problem with that. Next you will be saying that if someone brings truckloads of toys from China, they should not be stopped. For all you know, the toys for the chinese market have lead paint because safety standards there may be very lax compared to usa. The same hot wheels brand might be using lead paint in China and not in USA though they might be made in the same factory in China. I think there is no need to run rough on people who are just doing their job properly.

Somebody needs to get the agents to check out this man's garage workshop!