Cincinnati partner Robin Harvey and summer associate Lourdes Perrino co-authored a guest column, "Consumer Product Safety Commission Inspectors Now Responsible for Enforcement of Product Safety Laws at U.S. Ports of Entry," which was published on July 1, 2010, on the Baker Hostetler International Trade team's blog, China-U.S Trade Law.
According to Harvey and Perrino, "Beginning mid-June, 2010, the Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC") has been posting inspectors at U.S. ports of entry for the purpose of enforcing product safety statutes and regulations. Before, screening always had been performed by Customs inspectors, who could call in CPSC inspectors when they thought it necessary or appropriate. Containers are being seized at both air and sea ports, requiring importers and customs brokers to produce general conformity certificates for all products and product testing compliance certificates for products specifically identified under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act ("CPSIA") as requiring specialized testing for lead and phthalate content. So far, reports from the field indicate that seized goods are being released almost immediately after the proper certificates are produced. However, seized products not intended for use by children and not tested in conformity with CPSIA requirements are being detained by the CPSC as alleged non-conforming goods, until inspectors are satisfied that the seized goods should not be considered children’s products. Importers and customs brokers benefit from having on hand documentation to support the position that seized merchandise are not children’s products."
Harvey and Perrino continue: "A series of problems with Chinese goods triggered this increased vigilance, leading to the posting of CPSC inspectors directly at ports of entry in the United States. Issues over lead paint in 2007 in toys, compounded by other incidents including problems with tainted pet food, galvanized Congress, which learned quickly that the CPSC was an understaffed and underfunded bureaucracy incapable of policing all the products coming in from China that might be consumed by Americans, especially children and family pets, and might contain toxic levels of ingredients. Congress increased the CPSC budget authorization from $80 million to $136 million by 2014 and ordered it to be more aggressive and more vigilant in protecting American consumers."
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