Economy

Underlying wage growth in the UK is weaker than headline official statistics show because pay increases have been boosted by the end of the furlough scheme, according to a think-tank.The Resolution Foundation says pay rises are similar to pre-pandemic levels despite soaring prices, reducing the need for the Bank of England to increase interest rates to curb inflationary pressures.In January, nominal pay excluding bonuses grew by an annual rate of 4.1 per cent compared with an average of 2 per cent in the decade prior to the pandemic, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.But the Resolution Foundation’s analysis, published on Saturday, shows the official figures were boosted by the end of the furlough scheme in September. Furloughed workers received 80 per cent or less of their usual pay, thereby boosting growth rates as they returned to full pay. After adjusting for the furlough schemes and for factors such as the rise in the number of low-paid workers as hospitality and retail reopened, underlying wage growth averaged only 2.7 per cent in 2021, the same as in 2019, before the pandemic. This is despite inflation now running at a 30-year high, suggesting that workers are taking the hit from rising consumer prices. The think-tank calculated that for the last quarter of 2021 about 1 percentage point of the wage growth was due to furloughed workers moving back on to their full pay.Nye Cominetti, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said that headline figures “give a misleading impression of pay growth. Given the tightness of the labour market, pay growth is best seen as normal rather than exceptional, once the impact of the end of the furlough scheme is taken into account,” he added.The ONS is well aware of the issues and warned that “interpreting average earnings data is difficult at the moment”. The effects of the furlough scheme are waning as the number of furloughed workers decreased last year, but they will last until the autumn because growth this year is calculated comparing it with 2021. This “matters hugely”, argued Cominetti because the pace of wage growth is a key factor for the Bank of England when setting monetary policy, particularly at present when the country faces exceptional price pressures.The concern for policymakers is that high inflation expectations and a tight labour market are prompting a wage spiral that could result in a more prolonged period of high inflation. The UK labour market is indeed short of workers. The unemployment rate is close to record lows, the unemployment-to-vacancies ratio is the lowest on record, and workers are moving jobs voluntarily at record-high rates.

However, the findings of the Resolution Foundation show that underlying wage growth is not faster than when the labour market was in similar conditions in 2019, despite much higher price pressures. Similar modelling by the Bank of England, but based on the private sector only, showed higher underlying wage growth than the Resolution Foundation. However, in both analyses “there is no evidence yet of accelerating pay growth to match fast-rising prices”, the think-tank noted.The Resolution Foundation also estimated that nominal wages would grow by an average of 5 per cent in 2022. This means that “with inflation set to reach 8 per cent in the coming months, most workers’ earnings will fall in real terms — even with a 6.6 per cent rise in the minimum wage — further squeezing living standards in the months ahead”, said Cominetti. More

Starbucks workers have added to the momentum of a union campaign that went public in late August and has upended decades of union-free labor at the company’s corporate-owned stores.On Thursday and Friday, workers at six stores in upstate New York voted to unionize, according to the National Labor Relations Board, bringing the total number of company-owned stores where workers have backed a union to 16. The union, Workers United, was also leading by a wide margin at a store in Kansas whose votes were tallied Friday, but the number of challenged ballots leaves the outcome officially in doubt until their status can be resolved.The union has lost only a single election so far, but it is formally challenging the outcome.Since the union secured its first two victories in elections that concluded in December, workers at more than 175 other stores across at least 25 states have filed for union elections, out of roughly 9,000 corporate-owned stores in the United States. The labor board will count ballots in at least three more stores next week.The organizing success at Starbucks appears to reflect a growing interest among workers in unionizing, including the efforts at Amazon, where workers last week voted to unionize a Staten Island warehouse by a significant margin.On Wednesday, the general counsel of the labor board, Jennifer Abruzzo, announced that union election filings were up more than 50 percent during the previous six months versus the same period one year earlier. Ms. Abruzzo expressed concern that funding and staff shortages were making it difficult for the agency to keep up with the activity, saying in a statement that the board “needs a significant increase of funds to fully effectuate the mission of the agency.”Starbucks has sought to persuade workers not to unionize by holding anti-union meetings with workers and conversations between managers and individual employees, but some employees say the meetings have only galvanized their support for organizing.In some cases, Starbucks has also sent a number of senior officials to stores from out of town, a move the company says is intended to address operational issues like staffing and training but which some union supporters have said they find intimidating.The union has accused Starbucks of seeking to cut back hours nationally as a way to encourage longtime employees to leave the company and replace them with workers who are more skeptical about unionizing. And the union argues that Starbucks has retaliated against workers for supporting the union by disciplining or firing them. Last month, the labor board issued a formal complaint against Starbucks for retaliating against two Arizona employees, a step it takes after finding merit in accusations against employers or unions.The company has denied that it has cut hours to prompt employees to leave, saying it schedules workers in response to customer demand, and it has rejected accusations of anti-union activity.As the union campaign accelerated in March, the company announced that Kevin Johnson, who had served as chief executive since 2017, would be replaced on an interim basis by Howard Schultz, who had led the company twice before and remained one of its largest investors.Some investors who had warned Mr. Johnson that the company’s anti-union tactics could damage its reputation expressed optimism that the leadership change might bring about a shift in Starbucks’s posture toward the union. But the company soon announced that it would not agree to stay neutral in union elections, as the union has requested, dampening those hopes.On Monday, the same day that Mr. Schultz returned as chief executive, the company fired Laila Dalton, one of the two Arizona workers the N.L.R.B. had accused Starbucks of retaliating against in March. The company said that Ms. Dalton had violated company rules by recording co-workers’ conversations without their permission.“A partner’s interest in a union does not exempt them from the standards we have always held,” Reggie Borges, a company spokesman, said in a statement, using the company’s term for an employee. More

The price of a sandwich, a lunchtime staple eaten by millions across the UK every week, is poised to reach fresh highs as food costs soar, along with bills for labour, packaging and energy.War in Ukraine and the resetting of supply chains following pandemic lockdowns mean prices for the ingredients in one of the UK’s most popular sandwiches — the BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) — are up by 56 per cent on average since 1 January 2019, according to data compiled by commodity research group Mintec and the Financial Times.That rise is led by a huge spike in the price of sunflower oil, of which Ukraine is the world’s largest exporter. But prices for other ingredients are also surging: wheat and tomatoes have each increased by 63 per cent since the start of 2019, while the cost of lettuce has increased by nearly a quarter. Pork is the only ingredient to have remained level.Food manufacturers and retailers say they have never had to contend with such a rapid surge in all of their input costs. The sandwich, whose assembly and distribution requires fresh ingredients, large factories, labour and prompt, chilled transport, is emblematic of the struggle they face. The rise in the cost of lunch is set to become yet another burden on consumers’ wallets, as well as adding strain on manufacturers just as they start to recover from the worst of Covid-19.“Sandwiches are a barometer to the economy in that sense,” said Jim Winship, director of the British Sandwich and Food To Go Association, adding that record prices for key ingredients would send what consumer fork out for sandwiches to new highs.Shaun Allen, chief executive of food procurement specialist Prestige Purchasing, warned that “a protracted conflict, coupled with long-term sanctions on Russia’s economy, might well raise inflation to levels not seen for a generation”.Not only is Ukraine a key supplier of sunflower oil, but Russia and Ukraine together supply around a quarter of the world’s wheat, the main ingredient in bread. Sandwich makers are also contending with far higher energy costs to run factories — some in the industry say they have doubled in the past few months — and rising labour costs due to staff shortages and increases in the national living wage. Winship said sandwich makers had also been wrestling with supply problems. In the chilly spring months, producers are struggling to heat polytunnels to grow fresh salad items. A lorry drivers’ strike last month in Spain, a key exporter of tomatoes and lettuce, exacerbated challenges.Pork is the only BLT ingredient yet to show dramatic rises. In late 2021 and early 2022, European pig prices declined steeply after African swine fever in Germany prevented the country exporting to China. In the UK the downward pressure was worsened by a surplus of pigs on farms resulting from labour shortages in abattoirs.But prices have started to increase in recent weeks after a reduction in the size of European breeding herds. The rise has been amplified by increasing input costs, according to the National Pig Association, but has yet to feed through into prices for pork. Prices for packaging — which accounts for around 10 to 12 per cent of a sandwich’s production cost, according to Sam Page, managing director at sandwich maker Simply Lunch — have shot up around 25 per cent. Simply Lunch now charges retailers around £1.70 for a sandwich, approximately 30 per cent more than before Covid.Kantar, the market data business, said the price of a pre-packed sandwich for consumers was up 8 per cent in the 12 weeks to February 20 this year compared with the same period in 2020. Tesco, Co-op and Boots have increased the cost of their “meal deals”, which generally include a sandwich, drink and snack, by between 5 and 16 per cent this year. Similar inflationary forces are at work on sandwiches made fresh on-site by companies such as Pret A Manger.The worst of the price rises are yet to reach consumers, according to Clive Black, analyst at Shore Capital. But he warned: “Supply chains really can’t accommodate on a sustained basis this amount of cost inflation if they don’t pass it on [to consumers].”Winship said manufacturers have “no choice” but to charge more for sandwiches: “There was some resistance, I think, from retailers to start with, to price rises, but I think everyone’s accepted now that it is inevitable and unavoidable.”Workers prepare sandwiches in an M&S store in 1955. The ready-made sandwich has become a staple for UK workers © Charles Hewitt/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesThere are few ways to mitigate the cost crunch in a labour-intensive industry that runs on tight margins and timeframes. To make one BLT sandwich requires 17 people on the production line and wage costs have gone up between 5 and 25 per cent depending on the role, according to Page.“We are looking at ways to automate what we are doing [but it] is fairly limited because of the amount of raw materials that we use and the delicacy of the product. It’s quite difficult to get a robot to put lettuce into a sandwich,” he said.Labour shortages have meant that most manufacturers have probably suffered a 10 to 15 per cent reduction in capacity, said Black.Greencore, the UK’s largest sandwich maker, declined to comment in detail, but then-chief executive Patrick Coveney recently highlighted more limited ranges as a result of previous labour shortages at points since these began last year.Dan Silverston, managing director at Soho Sandwich, which produces about 300,000 sandwiches a week, said the entire process was complex: “It’s a high-risk business — it’s not just getting bread and putting something on it. It’s about yields, taste panels, making sure allergens are monitored, working with supply chains to make sure there is consistent supply.”The period of surging costs has come just as demand for sandwiches rebounds following the initial phase of the pandemic.

Marks and Spencer, which sells 100mn sandwiches per year, said that after a dramatic drop in sales during the early lockdowns, demand returned to pre-pandemic levels in March. The BLT is the retailer’s most popular flavour and costs £3.30 after the price was increased in 2020 because of surging pork costs.Page said he fears there is a ceiling on how much people are willing to pay for a sandwich, which could make them untenable to produce. Meanwhile there is little that manufacturers can do to reduce the number of ingredients without consumers detecting a problem.But Winship argued that despite the inflationary pressure, past experience suggested more expensive sandwiches may sell well in a challenging economic environment.“In recessionary times we’ve seen that the premium end of the market has actually grown. People aren’t going out to restaurants, they have a good quality sandwich and stay at their desks,” he said.Additional reporting by Chelsea Bruce-Lockhart More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Friday broadened its export curbs against Russia and Belarus, restricting access to imports of items such as fertilizer and pipe valves as it seeks to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and Minsk following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.President Joe Biden’s administration also restricted flights of American-made aircraft that are owned, controlled or leased by Belarusians from flying into Belarus “as part of the U.S. government’s response to Belarus’s actions in support of Russia’s aggressive conduct in Ukraine.”Washington has sought to deepen sanctions against Russia and ally Belarus after a withdrawal of Russian troops from northern Kiev revealed mass graves in the town of Bucha.On Wednesday, the United States targeted Russian banks and elites with a new round of sanctions, including banning Americans from investing in Russia, in response to what President Joe Biden condemned as “major war crimes” by Russian forces in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, which began on Feb. 24, is Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two. Russia calls it a “special military operation” aimed at protecting civilians.The Commerce Department said it will begin requiring Russians and Belarusians to get a special license when seeking to obtain a host of goods from U.S. suppliers and pledged to deny those licenses. The goods include fertilizer, pipe valves, ball bearings and other parts, materials and chemicals.The administration said items made abroad with U.S. tools would also require a U.S. license, which the administration plans to deny.”It is evidence they are going to continue tightening export controls and targeting on an economy-wide basis those categories they have not yet done,” said Emily Kilcrease, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and former deputy assistant U.S. Trade Representative, noting that the Commerce Department now has further restricted Russian access to all items whose export it regulates. “That’s significant.”Actions in late February and March placed unprecedented controls on export of U.S. and foreign-made items destined for Russia or Belarus. Those measures, coordinated with over 30 other countries, restrict a broad swath of commodities, software and technology. More

US stocks fell to a weekly decline for the first time in a month on Friday, as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials paved the way for a rapid decline in the central bank’s balance sheet and weighed on company valuations. The benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.3 per cent in New York, a weekly decline of 1.3 per cent. It ended three weeks of a recovery after the initial fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite also declined, falling 1.3 per cent for the day and 3.9 per cent for the week. The Fed revealed plans earlier this week to shrink its $9tn balance sheet by more than $1tn a year at the same time as it raises interest rates in an effort to combat soaring inflation. “While the Fed is saying that balance sheet reduction will occur ‘in the background’, that may not be the case . . . The silver lining is that the Fed may not need to hike rates as much since quantitative tightening should help to slow down the economy,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist for Invesco.The pace of the Fed’s proposed balance sheet reduction weighed on longer-dated Treasury prices, which move inversely to yields, while the prospect of rising interest rates tends to impact shorter-dated yields more. As attention shifted this week from rate increases to the balance sheet it helped to push yields on longer-dated Treasuries up by more than shorter-dated yields. In turn, this has led to a widely watched recession indicator called the yield curve — which compares short- and long-dated yields — moving back into positive territory. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which influences borrowing costs worldwide, rose to 2.7 per cent on Friday, up 0.04 percentage points on the day and taking its weekly rise to more than 0.3 percentage points. The 2-year Treasury yield rose by a more meagre 0.06 percentage points for the week to 2.5 per cent. The moves follow the worst quarter of returns for the Treasury market since at least 1973, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbated coronavirus pandemic-induced inflationary pressures, clouding the economic outlook.“The themes that dominated markets in the first quarter are still in play unfortunately,” said Paul O’Connor, head of Janus Henderson’s multi-asset team in the UK.“Every now and then, you may see a small burst of enthusiasm, but this will meet strong headwinds from central bank [monetary] tightening and the war in Ukraine — and there’s been no relief from either.” Elsewhere, Europe’s benchmark Stoxx 600 share index added 1.3 per cent, boosted by bank stocks viewed as beneficiaries of rate rises. France’s CAC 40 share index gained 1.3 per cent, with some analysts cautioning that traders had not fully quantified the risks of Emmanuel Macron losing this month’s presidential election to far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Exit polls suggest Macron’s lead over his rival is much narrower than it was five years ago.“This could be a cause for concern and it’s not really priced in at the moment,” said Antoine Lesne, head of research and strategy at State Street’s SPDR ETF business. In Asia, the Hang Seng Tech index, which tracks Hong Kong-listed technology companies, dropped sharply before closing 1.1 per cent lower.The dollar index, which charts the US currency against six others including the euro and sterling, rose nearly 0.1 per cent to its highest level since May 2020. Brent crude, the oil benchmark, rose 2.2 per cent to $102.78 a barrel. More

The Treasury Department’s deputy secretary, Wally Adeyemo, has been leading the effort to crack down on evasion and to coordinate with Europe.WASHINGTON — When Russia imposed retaliatory sanctions on top American officials last month, its government targeted President Biden and his top national security advisers, along with Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, whose agency has been crafting the punitive measures aimed at crippling Russia’s economy.Russia’s move, while wholly symbolic, underscored the central role that the Treasury Department has been playing in designing and enforcing the most expansive financial restrictions that the United States has ever imposed on a major economic power.Those restrictions amount to an economic war against Russia, which is entering a critical phase as the toll of fighting in Ukraine continues to escalate and as the Russian government tries to find ways to evade or mitigate fallout from Western sanctions.In an attempt to prevent Russia from skirting the penalties, Mr. Adeyemo, a 40-year-old former Obama administration official, spent last week crisscrossing Europe to coordinate a crackdown on Russia’s evasion tactics and to plot future sanctions. In meetings with counterparts, Mr. Adeyemo discussed plans by European governments to target the supply chains of Russian defense companies, some of which the U.S. placed under sanctions last week, and he talked about ways the United States could help provide more energy to Europe so European countries could scale back purchases of Russian oil and gas, a Treasury official said.On Wednesday, five days after Mr. Adeyemo returned, the Biden administration announced additional sanctions on Russian banks, state-owned enterprises and the adult daughters of President Vladimir V. Putin.Still, it remains to be seen whether the sweeping penalties aimed at neutering Russia’s economic power are working.Over the past six weeks, the United States and its allies in Europe and Asia have imposed sanctions on large financial institutions in Russia, its central bank, its military-industrial supply chain and Mr. Putin’s allies, seizing their yachts and planes. Imports of Russian oil to the United States have been banned, and Europe is developing plans to wean itself off Russian gas and coal, albeit slowly. This week, the Treasury Department prohibited Russia from making sovereign debt payments with dollars held at American banks, potentially pushing Russia toward its first foreign currency debt default in a century.But thus far Russia has kept paying its debts. Currency controls imposed by Mr. Putin’s central bank, which restricted Russians from using rubles to buy dollars or other hard currencies, along with continuing energy exports to Europe and elsewhere have allowed the ruble to stabilize and are replenishing Russia’s coffers with more dollars and euros. That has raised questions about whether the measures have been effective.“I think we’re grappling with the aftershocks of the shock and awe of the sanctions that were put in place and the recognition that sanctions take time to fully impact an economy,” said Juan C. Zarate, a former assistant secretary of the Treasury for terrorist financing and financial crimes. “It’s asking too much of sanctions to actually turn back the tanks, especially when sanctions have been implemented after the invasion.”At a speech in London last week, Mr. Adeyemo promoted the ability of sanctions to change behavior, describing the measures as a part of the equation that adversaries such as Russia need to consider when they violate international norms.“The idea that you can violate the sovereignty of another country and enjoy the privileges of integration into the global economy is one our allies and partners will not tolerate,” Mr. Adeyemo said at Chatham House, a think tank.Yet even the United States, which is not reliant on Russian energy, has wrestled with how far to go with its penalties.Within the Treasury Department, officials have been in a debate about how far to push the sanctions without creating unintended consequences that would rattle the financial system and inflame inflation, which is soaring across much of the world.The impact on the U.S. economy has been a top priority, and Janet L. Yellen, the Treasury secretary, has expressed concern about measures that would amplify inflation. The sanctions on Russia have already led to higher prices for gasoline, and officials are wary that they could bring spikes in food and car prices as Russian wheat and mineral exports are disrupted.“Our goal from the outset has been to impose maximum pain on Russia, while to the best of our ability shielding the United States and our partners from undue economic harm,” Ms. Yellen told lawmakers on Wednesday.As officials considered how to target the ruble, Ms. Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, argued against just imposing a ban on foreign exchange transactions, which would prevent Russia from buying dollars. She suggested instead that immobilizing Russia’s foreign reserves — savings that are held in U.S. dollars, euros and other liquid assets — while creating exemptions for Russia to accept payment for certain energy transactions would be the most effective way to inflict pain on Russia’s economy while minimizing the impact on the United States and its allies.At a congressional hearing this week, Republicans criticized those carve-outs for being giant loopholes that allow Russia to earn hundreds of millions of dollars per day through oil and gas sales.Treasury Department officials have been tracking measures that Russia has been using to prop up its economy, such as buying stocks and bonds, and monitoring signs of a growing black market for rubles, which indicates the currency’s actual diminished value. The Biden administration has watched with concern as the value of the ruble has rebounded in recent weeks, undercutting pronouncements made by Mr. Biden that sanctions reduced the Russian currency to “rubble.”“Of course that means that, having said that, when the ruble rebounds for reasons that do not necessarily indicate weakness of sanctions, people will say, ‘Well, see, they failed,’” said Daniel Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland and assistant secretary of state for Europe.A Treasury official said the United States was also keeping a private list of oligarchs whose financial transactions were under surveillance in preparation for sanctions so they could gain a better understanding of the networks of people that helped those individuals conceal their money. The United States has yet to impose sanctions on Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire who is already subject to European Union sanctions.Economists at the Institute of International Finance wrote in a research note this week that Russia’s domestic markets appeared to be stabilizing as a result of tight monetary policy, severe capital controls and its current account surplus.Russia-Ukraine War: Key DevelopmentsCard 1 of 4Missile attack. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) passenger who allegedly shoved a flight attendant and spit at crew members has been hit with the biggest fine ever issued by U.S. aviation regulators, and another fine topping $75,000 was issued to a Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) passenger who bit a fellow passenger after trying to hug and kiss another.Since January 2021 when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed a zero-tolerance policy, the agency has proposed fines of about $7 million for disruptive passengers. Two new fines issued Friday were the highest yet.The FAA proposed a $81,950 fine for an American Airlines passenger on a July flight from Dallas, Texas to Charlotte, North Carolina, alleging the passenger “threatened to hurt the flight attendant that offered help to the passenger after she fell into the aisle. The passenger then pushed the flight attendant aside and tried to open the cabin door.”The FAA added “two flight attendants tried to restrain the passenger, but she repeatedly hit one of the flight attendants on the head. After the passenger was restrained in flex cuffs, she spit at, headbutted, bit and tried to kick the crew and other passengers.”The agency also proposed a $77,272-fine for a Delta passenger on a July Las Vegas to Atlanta flight, alleging the passenger “attempted to hug and kiss the passenger seated next to her; walked to the front of the aircraft to try to exit during flight; refused to return to her seat; and bit another passenger multiple times.”Delta said Friday it “has zero tolerance for unruly behavior at our airports and on our flights as nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people.” The FAA imposed its zero-tolerance mandate when unruly passenger incidents escalated around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Incidents remained elevated after President Joe Biden’s administration imposed a mandate requiring passengers to wear masks on airplanes and in airports because of COVID-19 cases in February 2021. The FAA said neither incident that led to Friday’s fines involved passengers who objected to wearing masks.U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told ABC’s “The View” Friday that the administration’s mandate requiring masks on airplanes and in public transport will either expire or be renewed on April 18.”We all want to get to where there are fewer restrictions. We just need to get to a point where it is safe to do that,” Buttigieg said. “Air travel is a little different than a lot of other environments but we would love to get there.”Airlines and Republicans in Congress are pressing the White House to end the mask mandate and some lawmakers sent a new letter https://republicans-transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2022-04-08_–_letter_to_biden_re_mask_mandate_april.pdf?utm_campaign=197014-345 on Friday to Biden.The FAA said since January 2021, there have been a record 7,060 unruly passenger incidents reported – and 70% involved masking rules – but the rate has declined 60% since its high in 2021.The FAA said in February it has referred 80 unruly airplane passengers to the FBI for potential criminal prosecution.Buttigieg said the administration and Congress are still looking at a “no-fly” list for unruly passengers. More

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The fast-spreading Omicron variant stoked U.S. interest in better masks for children to ward off COVID-19, and that is adding fuel to an effort that could set the stage for domestic oversight of their quality.Adult N95 masks are federally regulated and considered a gold standard. They were among the “better masks” U.S. health officials recommended in January to protect against Omicron. For children, no comparable U.S.-regulated mask exists, and some concerned parents turned to kid-sized masks made to South Korea’s KF94 or China’s KN95 standards instead. While many U.S. states and schools have since stopped requiring mask-wearing for COVID, disease experts say children will still need high-quality masks for everything from current and future pandemics to seasonal flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) that can cause serious illness and death. “Every year there are opportunities for masks to make a difference – whether it’s in the classroom or in the daycare,” said Dr. Steven Krug, an emergency room physician and chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Children and Disasters.U.S. e-commerce sites are crowded with sellers offering children’s KF94 or KN95 masks. Most sites do not authenticate those products, and U.S. health agencies do not approve them – creating fertile ground for fraudsters.Dr. Jennifer Nayak, a University of Rochester Medical Center infectious disease specialist, told Reuters that mask shopping for her three kids on Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and other sites spurred questions, including: “Is it real vs. counterfeit? Is it going to fit?”South Korea is considered a leader for children’s masks because it tightly enforces its KF94 standard. Its health ministry says the only genuine KF94s are made in South Korea. Behealthyusa.net, the direct seller of made-in-South Korea BOTN KF94s in the United States, told Reuters its site sold out of many small-sized KF94 masks during the original Omicron surge.Los Angeles-based importer Tony Chen, father of 8- and 11-year-olds, started bringing in kid-sized, made-in-South Korea KF94 masks when parents struggled to find authentic masks at affordable prices.Parents with ties to South Korea pointed Chen to reputable children’s KF94 mask sellers there, he said. He flies masks duty-free to the United States under direct-to-consumer shipping rules that lower his cost to 47 cents to $1 each, vs. $1 to $3 on e-commerce sites.”I’m just hoping I break even,” said Chen, who has imported about 9,000 children’s KF94s for dozens of families since Jan. 1 and plans to keep going as long as needed. A handful of other groups also are doing leg work for parents.Project N95 – which vets mask sellers all the way back to the factory – runs a website that offers a variety of masks for children – including KF94s from South Korea, KN95s from China, and specialty products made by legitimate N95 manufacturers in the United States.”We do often run out,” Project N95 Executive Director Anne Miller said. Factories produce fewer masks for children than adults, and demand for children’s sizes is increasing up to 15% per week, Miller said.LONG ROAD TO OVERSIGHT The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) certifies N95 masks and inspects the facilities that make them. A move is afoot to establish a U.S. standard for high-filtration children’s masks, which could set the stage for domestic oversight. Texas mask-maker Aegle and the University of Maryland’s Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices are designing children’s masks that filter like N95s but are optimized for kids’ smaller faces and lungs. Aegle Chief Executive Andy Moy aims to start clinical trials at Washington’s Children’s National Hospital in April.The standard would define mask materials, measurements and filtration qualities. After that, a standards body or government agency would need to support and adopt it. A federal agency would be needed to enforce the standard, Moy said.”Only then will parents have the assurance they need,” Moy said.American Mask Manufacturer’s Association (AMMA) founder Lloyd Armbrust said success would require ongoing commitment and political pressure.”These problems are totally solvable, but people have to care long enough,” Armbrust said. (This story corrects China’s mask standard in paragraph 2) More