12 November 2008

CPSC Eliminates Product Safety Certification Requirement for Foreign Manufacturers, Private Labelers

The following article is excerpted from the 12 November 2008 edition of “WorldTrade Interactive”.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, having been deluged with inquiries from the trade community, will publish later this week a final rule that clarifies a number of issues regarding the product safety conformity certificate required for imported goods beginning Nov. 12.

Who Must Provide Certificate and How

The CPSC’s final rule eliminates the requirement for foreign manufacturers and private labelers of imported consumer goods to certify that they conform with applicable CPSC product safety standards. Only importers will be required to issue conformity certificates for imported goods.

In addition, the rule clarifies that certificates can be electronic and still satisfy the requirements that they (a) accompany the import shipment and (b) be furnished to distributors and retailers. This can be accomplished by placing on the product or with the shipment a unique identifier that can be accessed via the Internet or other electronic means. This change eliminates the concerns about confidentiality that had been raised by the proposed requirement that the foreign manufacturer issue the certificate.

The rule still allows testing of consumer products to be done by the foreign manufacturer, but in such cases only the importer’s identifying information must be on the certificate of conformity. Importers who rely on foreign suppliers to perform testing should therefore make sure their purchase agreements contain language sufficiently ensuring the accuracy of such tests and protecting them from liability for failure to provide accurate test reports.

Risks for Importers

The final rule indicates that for the time being the CPSC will be focusing its attention more on the compliance of imported products with applicable safety standards than on compliance with the certificate of conformity requirements. While the CPSC has been inundated with questions regarding which safety standards apply to which products, it does not currently have the resources to respond. It is therefore critical that importers themselves determine which standards apply to their products and ensure that those standards are met, a task that is particularly complex due to the fact that new rules and standards are being issued on a regular basis. The CPSC also warns that after an initial period of adjustment any failure to abide by the certificate of conformity requirement will subject shipments to denial of entry and possible destruction…