Outside the Tata Motors gates in Pune, a woman in a flowing red sari balances a 3-foot-wide basket on her head.

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Besides the footballs and baseballs, Leather Head recently produced a small batch of peach-basket-era laced basketballs for Converse, and he dabbled in rugby balls after an inquiry from Ralph Lauren.

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"China is an important market, but Brazil shouldn't be putting all its eggs in one basket, " says Rubens Ricupero, a former Brazilian finance minister and former head of the U.N.

WSJ: China Trade Rise Prompts Shifts Around the Globe