Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

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

Ref : EIC 111/4

8 April 2011

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 216/2011

US : Fur Products Labeling Act - Stay of Enforcement

The trade was informed via Commercial Information Circular No. 167/2011 that the US Truth in Fur Labeling Act of 2010 had eliminated the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s discretion to exempt any garments with relatively small quantity or value of fur (de minimis exemption) from labelling requirements. Effective from 18 March 2011, fur products previously covered by the de minimis exemption would be subject to the labelling requirements under the Fur Products Labeling Act (FPLA), even though the exemption still remains in the relevant regulations pending final rulemaking by the FTC.

2.The FTC has recently issued an enforcement policy entitled "Labels for Fur Products Previously Covered by the FTC's De Minimis Exemption", which is available at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2011/03/110316furactpolicy.pdf. To ensure that the FPLA labelling requirements for fur products previously covered by the de minimis exemption does not place an undue burden on the industry, the FTC stated in the enforcement policy that it would not take any steps to enforce the requirements against retailers previously covered by the de minimis exemption, provided the product in question: (i) was delivered to the retailer on or before 18 March 2011 and sold by 18 March 2012; and (ii) is not mislabelled under the old requirements.

ENQUIRIES

3.For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact Miss S Y Tang at telephone number 2398 5405.

Yours faithfully,

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