Codes Are Meant To Protect Consumers, Not Trade Julius Ballanco’s claim in his column in the November 2007 issue of PM Engineer that he sees “codes and standards used to restrict trade” could not be further from the truth when it comes to the decision of the Michigan Construction Code Com - mission to deny approval of imported cast-iron soil pipe and fittings from Chi - na for use on state construction projects in the state of Michigan. In the Michigan case, the U.S. import  - er had requested official approval of the products it was reselling. The importer was denied approval on the technical mer- its — the Michigan authorities were sim - ply unable to conclude despite numerous inquiries and hearings that the products the importer was outsourcing conformed to applicable product standards referenced in the Michigan Plumbing Code. Mr. Bal   - lanco’s  imagined  competitive  restraint ignores hours and hours of work by Mich   - igan regulators to satisfy themselves that their approval could be granted and the importer’s failure to satisfactorily answer their legitimate questions. The fact that Mr. Ballanco was a paid consultant for the importer at the same time that he mischaracterized the Michi  - gan actions is mind-boggling. In the hear- ings, Mr. Ballanco tried to make the case that  the  reseller  was  the  manufacturer for the purposes of meeting the standard, even though the importer does not own or operate any manufacturing plants and the standard clearly defines the manufac - turer as “the entity that cast the pipe and fittings.” Only the foundry that poured the molten iron can verify quality con- trol procedures were followed at the time the material was cast. No third party or reseller can do that after the fact. The actual facts are that close examina   - tion of test reports provided by the import - er in the Michigan case consistently revealed incomplete or inaccurate information in repeated submittals. Specifiers examining these same test reports would be left to guess whether the products were manufactured in compliance with the standard. Mr. Ballanco claimed in his column that other states “had already approved the Chinese pipe,” but, to our knowledge, no other state has approved cast-iron soil pipe and fittings — domestic or foreign. Nor did Michigan, not because of “personal prejudice” as imagined by Mr. Ballanco, but on the technical merits. Simply demanding that foreign-made products prove they meet the standard is not an “abuse of power” – but a require - ment of those entrusted with protecting the health, welfare and interest of consum   - ers and taxpayers. And Mr. Ballanco ought to know. As he wrote in a June 2006 col   - umn (when his self-interest was not impli  - cated), “if foreign manufacturers want to sell their products in the United States, they have to play by the rules. Those rules are  the  plumbing  codes  and  standards adopted in this country. A good inspector knows all about the plumbing standards. They are required to enforce the code, and to do so correctly, they must enforce the requirements in the standards.” Makes good sense to me — and the good people of Michigan. Bill LeVan Executive Vice President Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute Chattanooga, TN Letters PME Letters As Seen In Reprinted with permission from PM Engineer, January 2008 © 2008, BNP Media AR-PME(108)