The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has approved a pilot programme to test an electronic filing system that will require those importing consumer products into the US to electronically submit five data elements.
The measures are designed to enable the CPSC to enhance its surveillance of imported goods and to allow the accurate identification of noncompliant and unsafe consumer products before distribution within the US.
The pilot programme will be conducted jointly with US Customs & Border Protection (CBP). The CPSC, which is seeking volunteer participants, has scheduled the test programme to begin in the summer of 2016 and will run for approximately six months.
The five data elements are:
- Identification of the finished product.
- Each consumer product safety rule to which the finished product has been certified.
- Where the finished product was manufactured, produced or assembled, including the name and address of the manufacturer.
- The name and contact information of the testing entity.
- A check box indicating that a required certificate currently exists for the finished product.
Under the current system, manufacturers (including importers) and private labellers of certain regulated consumer products manufactured outside of the US are required to test and certify that such products are compliant with all regulations prior to importation. The certificates of compliance and product safety are made available to the CPSC by placing paper certificates inside shipping containers or by providing electronic certificates through an online system or via email.
The pilot programme will assess two options for the electronic filing of the certificate data: either filing all certificate data at the time of the product’s entry to the US; or filing a reference to certificate data stored in a registry maintained by the CPSC. The electronically filed information will be available to CPSC for validation and risk assessment.
Author
Graham Pitcher
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk