Agencies Increase Port Surveillance of Consumer Products

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is increasing its efforts to prevent consumer products that violate U.S. safety rules from entering the country. The agency recently announced enhanced efforts to screen imported products for safety violations. CPSC investigators are working jointly with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at 15 major ports of entry to inspect goods and prevent the entry of products that fail to meet CPSC rules.

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, CPSC investigators prevented over 500,000 units of “violative and hazardous imported products from entering the country,” according to an April 5, 2012, CPSC news release, During the past fiscal year, the agency inspected more than 9,900 product shipments at ports nationwide and prevented almost 4.5 million units of such products from entering U.S. stores and homes.