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United States (US): Major Trade Issues At a Glance
Toy and Product Safety
In the US, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is responsible for regulating the sale and manufacture of more than 15,000 different consumer products, including toys and children's products. CPSC fulfills its mission to protect consumers against unreasonable risk of injury by developing voluntary and mandatory standards, banning dangerous consumer products, issuing recalls of products already on the market, and researching potential hazards associated with consumer products.
In the wake of fear over tainted imports, efforts are intensified in the US to address product safety concerns. An Interagency Working Group on Import Safety, made up of senior US Administration officials, conducted a comprehensive review of current import safety practices and made recommendations for continuing to improve the safety of imports entering the US. Over a score of bills have also been introduced in Congress since 2007 to strengthen measures to ensure the safety of products for sale in the US. After months of discussions and debates, the House of Representatives and the Senate passed their respective product safety bill in December 2007 and March 2008 respectively.The final Senate-House version of the
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (H.R.4040) was passed almost unanimously by both houses of Congress and signed by the US President on 14 August 2008.
The new law, considered a landmark reform of American consumer product safety rules and tightens standards. It re-authorised and modernised the CPSC which is charged with carrying out the provisions of the Act. A summary of the main provisions of the Act is set out in our
Commercial Information Circular No. 451/2008.
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