The Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) final ruling eliminates the requirement for foreign manufacturers who export to certify their goods conform with applicable CPSA product safety standards.  The importer of foreign manufactured will be solely responsible to issue conformity certificates for imported goods.

The rule also clarifies that certificates can be electronic and satisfy the requirements of a) accompanying the shipment, and b) furnished to distributors/retailers.  This can be accomplished by using a unique shipment identifier that can be accessed via the Internet to eliminate concerns regarding confidentiality of imported products.

It is still critical for importers to determine the standards that apply to their products and ensure those standards are being met, a task that is complicated by the fact new rules and guidelines seem to be issued weekly.  All importers should take note after an initial adjustment period, the failure by an importer to abide by the certificate of conformity requirement will result in shipments being denied entry and/or destruction.

All importers should remember it is the Customs Inspector at the port initially making the determination whether or not to hold a shipment and as we all know this “interpretation” of new regulations varies dramatically from port to port.  I would not be surprised to see a larger than expected volume of shipments being held while CBP Headquarters sends some directives to the officers at the ports on how to handle and process shipments under these new guidelines.