Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 111/2/20, EIC 111/2/21

23 October 2009

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 535/2009

US : Statement of Policy Concerning Testing and Certification of Lead Content in Children's Products Pursuant to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recently posted a document entitled "Statement of Policy: Testing and Certification of Lead Content in Children's Products" (Statement of Policy) to its website providing guidance on the testing and certification of children's products for compliance with the lead content limits specified in the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). Traders may refer to the Annex (pdf format)or the following CPSC website at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/
leadpolicy.pdf for details. 

DETAILS

2. The trade was informed via Commercial Information Circular (CIC) No. 240/2009 about the new lead limits of the CPSIA. Beginning 14 August 2009, the lead content for children's products cannot exceed 300 parts per million (ppm). Unless the CPSC determines that the 100 ppm standard is not feasible for a product or product category, it will be further reduced to 100 ppm on 14 August 2011. A children's product is defined in Section 235(a) of the CPSIA as a "consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger". The CPSC has recently issued the Statement of Policy to provide guidance on the testing and certification of children's products for compliance with the lead content limits of the CPSIA. Some of the salient points of the Statement of Policy are summarised below:

   1. Children's products will need to be tested by a third party conformity assessment body (more commonly known as a third party laboratory) for compliance with the lead content limits and to be certified as compliant based on those tests. The third party laboratory must be accredited and the accreditation must be recognised by CPSC. A listing of CPSC-recognised laboratories can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov/cgi-bin/labapplist.aspx. More information on certifying children's products for compliance is available at
      http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr09/certification.pdf.

   2. On (a), the CPSC has stayed the enforcement of testing and certification requirements for the 300 ppm lead content limit until 10 February 2010, at which time the CPSC will vote on the stay. However, the stay does not apply to (i) lead in paint, and (ii) lead in children's metal jewelry. Also, companies may not distribute or sell children's products that exceed the 300 ppm lead content requirement in the law. Traders may refer to our CIC No. 70/2009 which is available at http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/tradecircular/cic/
      americas/2009/ci702009.html for information.

   3. The CPSC has found that certain products, by their nature, will never exceed the lead content limits so those products do not need to be tested and do not need certifications to show that they comply with the law. Details of those products are listed in the Statement of Policy. Traders may also refer to the relevant CPSC's notice published in the Federal Register on 26 August 2009 at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-20589.pdf or our CIC No. 440/2009 which is available at http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/tradecircular/cic/
      americas/2009/ci4402009.html for information.

   4. The CPSC received many questions about how to handle a product where some parts do not need to be tested for lead content and others do. It intends to address component part testing and establish protocols and standards for testing for compliance in an upcoming rulemaking. It currently plans to have a public meeting where the public will have a chance to discuss testing issues. In the interim, it provides the following guidance for testing for lead content: 

      1. the CPSC does not require separate tests of the parts of the product that are made entirely of items that have been determined not to exceed the lead limits. Details are at (c) above; 

      2. the CPSC does not require testing for lead content of those parts of a children's product that are inaccessible, i.e., that cannot be touched by a small child's finger. Details of the CPSC's rule on inaccessibility and lead are available at
         http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr09/leadinaccessibilityfinalrule.pdf. Traders may also refer to our CIC No. 410/2009 which is available at
         http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/tradecircular/cic/americas
         /2009/ci4102009.html for information; and

      3. the CPSC does not require lead content testing of certain components of electronic devices designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age and younger. Details of the CPSC's rule on electronic devices are available at
         http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr09/electronicinterim.pdf. Traders may also refer to our CIC No. 84/2009 which is available at http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/tradecircular/cic/americas/
         2009/ci842009.html for information.

   5. The CPSC provides two examples on the need for component part testing for lead content in the Statement of Policy: (i) a book made with a cardboard cover glued to pages made with paper and printed with CMYK, and bound with metal spiral binding; and (ii) a children's coat made of a variety of fabrics and a zipper.

   6. Until a final testing rule is issued, the CPSC will, on an interim basis, accept certifications of component parts if the component tested is the same in all material respects to the component used on the product.

ENQUIRIES

3. To facilitate traders understand more about the CPSIA requirements, the CPSC has prepared and posted a brief summary and a list of frequently asked questions related to the new lead limits of the CPSIA to its website at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/sect101.html. The CPSC has also prepared a Chinese webpage (http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/intl/newusreq_ch.html) for information. Traders are strongly advised to seek clarifications with their importers in the US in order to comply with the necessary requirements. 

4. For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at 2398 5682.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Bonny CHAO)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry