CPSC

By Charles E. Joern Jr. – August 31, 2017

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) enforces consumer product safety laws, among them the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C.

By Charles E. Joern – February 28, 2017

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), like almost all of the federal government, is in a state of change. Just how extensive that change will be, is uncertain at this point. At the CPSC there are signs of both transformation and stability.

Several factors indicate a new direction at the CPSC.

On January 28, 2016, Barack Obama signed the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act into law. The new law requires child resistant packaging on liquid nicotine containers used with popular electronic cigarettes. Liquid nicotine is extremely toxic to children, and the act is designed to prevent accidental poisonings.

The law’s special packaging rules subject liquid nicotine products to the same child resistant packaging standards that are already required for many hazardous household products, such as prescription drugs and furniture polish. These special packaging standards were first promulgated under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 (PPPA), and are now extended to the e-cigarette industry.

On January 7, 2016 the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) introduced a “robot” to help businesses understand and comply with consumer product safety regulations. No, it does not talk or vacuum, but it can be a big help to small businesses and others trying to comply with numerous CPSC product safety rules created over the last several years.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently took an important step towards mandatory electronic filing of data for imported consumer products. On August 12, 2015, the commission approved an “Alpha Pilot” program designed to test an e-filing system for CPSC import data. The program will be conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and has two essential goals:
1. Enhance the CPSC’s capacity to collect and analyze data in order to better target noncompliant products at import; and
2. Develop the means for importers to electronically file CPSC data through a “single window” in the CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) data system.

Read the full article:

"CPSC Approves Pilot E-Filing System for Imports”, News & Developments, Products Liability, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, September 25, 2015

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC/Commission) recently approved a new safety standard that effectively bans once wildly popular magnet sets. This rule [16 CFR 1240] affects
millions of small high-powered magnet sets used as adult desk toys. The rulemaking followed a long history of CPSC efforts to address safety concerns with magnet sets—none of which eliminated ongoing incidents of serious harm to children.

Read the full article:

"New CPSC Magnet Standard Tackles Safety Concerns”, News & Developments, Products Liability, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, November 25, 2014

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a new proposed rule on how businesses must certify that their products comply with CPSC safety rules. The new rule would totally strike the existing rule on certificates of compliance and replace it with a new regulation (16 C.F.R. § 1110). This proposed rule has important ramifications for every business that manufactures, imports, distributes, or sells consumer products. Although the rule has yet to be adopted, its potential impact has brought up numerous concerns for companies ranging from manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to many national industry organizations and even shipping organizations.

Read the full article:

“Important Changes Proposed For CPSC Product Certification”, Products Liability Litigation E-Newsletter, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, December 5, 2013      

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) increased its enforcement efforts in 2012 and appears poised to take even stronger action in 2013. If last year is any indication of what this year will bring, 2013 will be a challenging time for consumer-product businesses regulated by the CPSC.

The re-election of President Barack Obama will affect the Consumer Product Safety Commission — but more for what it does not change than for what it does change.

Read More. . .

By: Charles E. Joern, Jr.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) enforces consumer product safety laws for thousands of different kinds of consumer products.  Foreign products that do not comply with applicable regulations can be seized at the border, forfeited, and destroyed.  Here are 10 things to remember if you are importing consumer products into the United States.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recently issued a press release proclaiming " Toys Safer This Holiday Season Due to Stronger Safety Rules". The same release, however, included a Commission staff report showing that toy related deaths of children actually increased and the number of injuries to children remained high. The headline that stronger federal rules enhance toy safety appears to conflict with the Commission's own report.