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

17 August 2011

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 498/2011

US : Reform to the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

The US President signed into law a bill (H.R. 2715) on 12 August 2011 to provide the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) with greater authority and discretion in enforcing the consumer product safety laws, and to reform several aspects of the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The full text and other details of the relevant public law 112-28 can be found at the website of the library of the US Congress at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:HR02715:|TOM:/bss/d111query.html.

DETAILS

2.The trade was informed via Commercial Information Circular No. 451/2008 of the enactment of the CPSIA on 14 August 2008 to amend the US Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). The CPSIA establishes consumer product safety standards and other safety requirements for children's products and the major provisions include:

1. defining "children's products" as consumer products designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger; 
2. lowering the limits for lead content and lead paint in children's products
3. setting phthalates limits for children's toys and child care articles;
4. establishing mandatory safety standards for toys, 12 categories of durable infant or toddler products and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs);
5. establishing the mandatory third party testing and certification requirements for children's products;
6. establishing the requirements of general conformity certification for non-children's products subject to consumer product safety rules under the CPSA or similar rule, ban, standard, or regulation under any other Act enforced by the CPSC;
7. introducing the tracking labels requirements;
8. introducing the requirements for consumer registration of durable infant or toddler products; and
9. establishing a searchable public consumer product safety information database.

3.In response to the concerns of the trading community, the US Congress passed and the US President signed into law the House-passed bill H.R. 2715 to reform various aspects of the CPSIA and to provide greater flexibility and discretion to the CPSC in enforcing the consumer product safety standards established under the CPSIA. A summary of the main provisions of H.R. 2715 is set out below.

Prospective Application of Lead Content Limit for Children's Products

4.As mandated by the CPSIA, children's products sold, offered for sale, manufactured for sale, distributed in commerce, or imported for sale in the US must meet the 100 parts per million (ppm) lead content limit starting from 14 August 2011. Pursuant to the provisions of H.R. 2715, the 100 ppm lead content limit applies only to products manufactured on or after 14 August 2011 and any future revisions to the lead content limits will also be applied prospectively after the effective date without effect to the products in inventory or on store shelves.

"Functional Purpose Exception" to Lead Content Limit

5.H.R. 2715 authorizes the CPSC, on its own initiative or upon petition by an interested party, to grant an exception from the lead content limit to a product, class of product, material, or component part if the CPSC determines, after notice and a hearing, that:

1. it is not practicable or not technologically feasible to manufacture such product without inclusion of lead by removing excessive lead or making the lead inaccessible;
2. the product is unlikely to be placed in the mouth or ingested by a child; and
3. the exception will have no measurable adverse effect on public health or safety.

6.The party seeking such an exception has the burden of demonstrating that the concerned product meets the above requirements. When granting an exception, the CPSC may establish an alternative lead limit for the concerned product; or impose a manufacturing expiration date for the exception.

Exemption from Lead Content Limit for Off-highway Vehicles and Used Children's Products

7.The lead content limit under the CPSIA will not apply to off-highway vehicles, including ATVs and snowmobiles.

8.Used children's products that are obtained by the seller for use and not for the purpose of resale, including children's products donated to the seller for charitable distribution or resale to support charitable purposes, will also be exempted from the lead content limit. However, the exemption is not applicable to (i) children's metal jewelry, (ii) any children's products for which the donating party or the seller has actual knowledge that the product is in violation of the lead limits, or (iii) any children's products that the CPSC determines to present an unreasonable risk to children's health.

Alternative Lead Content Limit for Bicycles

9.Pursuant to the provisions of H.R. 2715, the total lead content limit by weight for any metal component parts of such products will remain at 300 ppm after the expiry of the stay of enforcement currently in force on 31 December 2011. The metal component parts of bicycles are also excluded from third party testing requirements with respect to lead content limit.

Exclusion from Third Party Testing Requirements for Printed Materials

10.Ordinary books or ordinary paper-based printed materials, as defined in H.R. 2715, are excluded from the third party testing requirements under the CPSIA.

Alternative Testing Requirements for Small Batch Manufacturers

11.H.R. 2715 authorizes the CPSC to provide small batch manufacturers with either alternative testing requirements or an exemption from the third party testing requirements if no alternative testing requirements is available or economically practicable. However, alternative testing requirements or exemption from the third party testing requirements are not provided for lead paint limit, children's metal jewelry and durable infant or toddler products.

12.To be eligible to the alternative testing requirements or an exemption for a product by a small batch manufacturer, a manufacturer should have no more than US$1 million in total gross revenue from sales of all consumer products and should produce no more than 7,500 units of the same consumer products in the previous calendar year.

Reducing the Burdens of Third Party Testing Requirements

13.Not later than 60 days from the enactment of H.R. 2715, the CPSC is required to seek public comment on opportunities to reduce the costs of third party testing requirements without compromising the applicable consumer product safety rule, ban, standard, or regulation. Within one year of the enactment of H.R. 2715, the CPSC is required to issue new or revised third party testing regulations if considered necessary after reviewing the public comment. Moreover, the CPSC may make legislative recommendations to the Congress if it considers it lacks the authority to implement proposals to reduce burden of third party testing requirements.

Phthalates Limits

14.With the enactment of H.R. 2715, the phthalates limits under the CPSIA will apply only to any plasticized component part of children's toys or child care articles; or to any other component part that is made of materials that may contain phthalates.

15.Moreover, the phthalates limits will not apply to any component part of children's toys or child care articles that is not accessible to a child through normal and reasonably foreseeable use and abuse of such product. The CPSC is required to promulgate, within one year after the enactment of H.R. 2715, a rule providing guidance on what product components are considered to be inaccessible for this purpose.

Automatic Updating of Durable Nursery Products Standards

16.H.R. 2715 establishes a new process for automatic updating of durable nursery products standards when the voluntary standards adopted by the CPSC in part or in whole as the consumer product safety standards are revised by the standards organizations, unless the CPSC determines the revisions does not improve the safety of the concerned products.

Tracking Labels Requirement

17.The CPSC is authorized to modify the tracking labels requirement under the CPSIA. The CPSC may exclude a specific product from the requirement or establish alternative requirements for any product.

Changes to the Public Consumer Product Safety Information Database

18.H.R. 2715 provides that if the CPSC receives notice that a report of harm or comment contains materially inaccurate information, the CPSC will stay the publication of the report on the public consumer product safety information database up to five additional business days, beyond the 10th business day after transmission of the report to the manufacturer as required under the CPSIA.

19.Moreover, if a report of harm does not include the model or serial number of the consumer product concerned, the CPSC will seek such information or a photo, if the required information is not available, from the individual or entity submitting the report.

FULL TEXT of H.R. 2715

20.Please refer to the full text of H.R. 2715 at the website mentioned in paragraph 1 above for details of its provisions. Traders are advised to visit the CPSC's designated website on the CPSIA at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html for the latest information regarding implementation of H.R. 2715 to reform the CPSIA. Traders are also strongly advised to seek clarifications with their importers in the US in order to comply with the necessary requirements

ENQUIRIES

21.For enquiries concerning this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5682.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Carmen CHAN)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry