Once the Consumer Product Safety Commission prohibits the sale of a particular product in the United States, a manufacturer can no longer sell the product to U.S. wholesalers or retailers. However, the product can be sold in other countries that have not prohibited its sale. The same is true of other countries' sales to the United States. For example, Great Britain outlawed the sale of the prescription sleeping pill Halcion, but sales of the drug continue in the United States. \({ }^{46}\) The British medical community reached conclusions regarding the pill's safety that differed from the conclusions reached by the medical community and the Food and Drug Administration here. Some researchers who conducted studies on the drug in the United States simply concluded that stronger warning labels were needed. The Consumer Product Safety Commission outlawed the sale of three-wheel all-terrain cycles in the United States in 1988, \({ }^{47}\) Although some manufacturers had already turned to four-wheel models, other manufacturers still had inventories of three-wheel cycles. Testimony on the cycles ranged from contentions that although the vehicles themselves were safe, the drivers were too young, too inexperienced, and more inclined to take risks (e.g., to "hot dog"). However, even after the three-wheel product was banned here, outlawed vehicles could still be sold outside the United States. For many companies, chaos follows a product recall because inventory of the recalled product may be high. Often, firms must decide whether to "dump" the product in other countries or to take a write-off that could damage earnings, stock prices, and employment stability.............

 Discussion Questions
1. If you were a manufacturer holding a substantial inventory of a product that had been outlawed in the United States, would you have any ethical concerns about selling the product in countries that do not prohibit its sale?
2. Suppose the inventory write-down that you will be forced to take because of the regulatory obsolescence is material-nearly a \(20 \%\) reduction in income will result. If you can sell the inventory in a foreign market, legally, there will be no write-down and no income reduction. A reduction of that magnitude would substantially lower share market price, which in turn would lead your large, institutional shareholders to demand explanations and possibly seek changes in your company's board of directors. In short, the write-down would set off a wave of events that would change the structure and stability of your firm. Do you now feel justified in selling the product legally in another country?
3. Is selling the product in another country simply a matter of believing one aspect of the evidence-that the product is safe? Is this decision a matter of the credo as well?
4. Would you include any warnings with the product?