| Rise of the International Product Safety Regulators* |
| Author: Matt Howsare |
What do the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Health Canada, the European
Union’s DG SANCO, Australia’s ACCC, China’s AQSIQ, and many other international consumer
product safety regulators have in common? They are all talking to each other—regularly. As a result of
the globalization of the consumer product supply chain, product safety regulators throughout the world
have realized the need for growing dialogue and cooperation among their respective jurisdictions.
Why should this matter to you? As a product safety professional working in a global supply chain, it is
important to fully understand how international product safety regulators are sharing information and
coordinating their risk assessment and regulatory approaches. It is equally important to appreciate that
despite increased coordination among regulators, there will always be critical differences between the
product safety laws of diverse jurisdictions that complicate global supply chain management.
CPSC’s Prioritization of Regulatory Product Safety Globalization
Although the CPSC had previously been active internationally, the adoption of the agency’s 2011-2016
Strategic Plan in late 2010 supercharged the CPSC’s involvement in the international arena.
Recognizing that the value of imported consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction had grown
from approximately $60 billion in 1998 to almost $637 billion in 2010, and that four out of five
consumer product recalls involved imported products, the CPSC’s Strategic Plan set out the following
vision statement as an “inspirational ideal” for the agency:
“The CPSC is the recognized global leader in consumer product safety”
This sudden thrust into the spotlight, in turn, helped lead to the establishment of the “Office of
Education, Global Outreach and Small Business Ombudsman,” the opening of the agency’s first
regional office in Beijing, an emphasis on training foreign partners on US requirements, and
independent program plans that outline specific agency activities for the Western Hemisphere, China,
East-Asia Pacific, Europe, International Organizations, and Internet Foreign Language Translation.
Where do the International Product Safety Regulators Meet?
Although international product safety regulators communicate daily by phone and email, nothing can
replace the relationship building that occurs during in-person meetings. These types of meetings occur in
two primary forums.
OECD
In July 2010, the Consumer Policy Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) formed the Working Party on Consumer Product Safety (Working Party) and
tasked the group with implementing a ten-point plan outlining goals “to strengthen information sharing
on product safety” among regulators. The Working Party consists of regulators from a multitude of
different jurisdictions.
In October 2012, the Working Party announced the launch of the Global Recalls Portal. The Portal,
which expands on the similar concept underlying the European Union’s Rapid Exchange of Information
System (RAPEX), is intended to provide businesses, consumers, and regulators with up-to-date
information on product recalls in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States.
Notably, the Portal was only one of many goals for the Working Party. Some of the other goals for
international regulators include:
• Sharing hazard studies;
• Coordinating regulatory activities;
• Developing a restricted directory of safety experts;
• Reaching agreement on format for injury data collection;
• Pooling information on product hazards;
• Developing a confidentiality protocol that allows for increased sharing of research; and
• Enhancing international cooperation on traceability.
OECD meetings often coincide with other product safety meetings, such as those of the International
Consumer Product Health & Safety Organization (ICPHSO), where regulators are already gathered.
Because the OECD’s meetings are governmental and not typically open to the general public, it can be
challenging for product safety professionals to gauge its progress. To stay apprised of events, you should
take notice of any announcements from the Working Party itself or individual participants.
Product Safety Summits
Regulators from the United States, Canada, Mexico, the European Union, and China participate in at
least three product safety summits that occur with varying frequency. The “North America Consumer
Product Safety Summit,” most recently held in September 2013, brings together regulators from the
United States, Mexico, and Canada and occurs every two years. The “Biennial United States-China
Consumer Product Safety Summit,” most recently held in October 2013, brings together regulators from
the United States and China every two years. The “Biennial Consumer Product Safety Trilateral
Summit,” most recently held in June 2012, brings together regulators from the United States, European
Union, and China every two years and will take place again in 2014.
Although these summits are generally open to the public, some parts are open only to regulators.
Nevertheless, at the conclusion of each summit, the participating regulators usually publicly release an
agreement to cooperate and coordinate in areas such as: proposed regulations, voluntary standards, risk
assessment, import, market surveillance, training, consumer awareness campaigns, joint recalls,
traceability, and information exchange.
How do the International Regulators Coordinate?
Product safety regulators from different jurisdictions coordinate and cooperate on a day-to-day basis.
Here are just a few examples of how this occurs.
Personnel Exchanges
One of the newest and most meaningful ways that foreign regulators are coordinating and learning from
each other is through the Extended Training Exchange Program that CPSC initiated in 2012. Through
this program, the CPSC hosts international regulators and sends CPSC staff members to work with other
regulators for periods of one to three months. In 2012, CPSC hosted regulators from Canada and
Australia. According to the agency’s 2014 budget request, the target for 2014 is four extended training
exchanges. Although the United States can only facilitate a small number of extended trainings each
year, this program will likely be replicated by other countries.
Product Safety Reviews with Chinese Authorities
Another regulator-to-regulator dialogue occurs between the European, American, and Chinese regulators
concerning noncompliant or hazardous products and hazard trends in particular product areas. CPSC has
termed this the “recall information exchange,” and credited the program with enhancing bilateral
compliance efforts with China. The European Union provides information to Chinese regulators through
its RAPEX-CHINA system, allowing Chinese product safety regulators to readily access the database to
investigate and potentially stop further export of dangerous consumer products from China.
Those managing global supply chains should be aware that product safety regulators from traditional
“consumer markets” are regularly engaged in dialogue with regulators from “supplier markets.”
Joint Recalls
CPSC and Health Canada have conducted many joint recalls. A joint recall usually creates efficiencies
by streamlining a multi-national recall and is therefore often desired by both the regulatory agencies
involved and the recalling company. At the first North American Summit, regulators discussed the
potential for trilateral recalls including Mexico. If your company needs to conduct a recall involving
multiple countries, a simultaneous multi-country recall might be beneficial and you should consider
approaching the appropriate regulatory agencies to see if such a recall is feasible.
Harmonization Efforts
One of the best examples of product safety regulators attempting to harmonize regulations is the Pilot
Alignment Initiative. This initiative seeks consensus from product safety authorities in Australia,
Canada, the European Union, and the United States on safety requirements for corded window
coverings, chair-top booster seats, and baby slings. The US Government Accountability Office’s August
2013 report on “International Regulatory Cooperation” stated that the 18 months spent reaching the
group’s first consensus concerning corded window coverings “fell short of CPSC’s expectations”
because the European Union had already taken a policy position contrary to what other participants
hoped to establish as the consensus position.
This outcome is important to the product safety community for two reasons. First, it demonstrates that
international product safety regulators are willing to try to harmonize regulatory requirements, so efforts
to focus regulators’ activities in a particular direction are not wasted. Second, it demonstrates the
difficulty in achieving meaningful harmonization and the need for all product safety professionals to
appreciate that there will always be differences among the product safety laws of the relevant
jurisdictions in a global supply chain. The consensus papers for baby slings and chair-top booster seats
are still in progress at the time of this article’s publication.
Takeaway
The international regulators are here to stay and their coordination, collaboration, and resulting
importance to those involved with the global supply chain likely will only strengthen in the future.
Addressing world leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, then Secretary General
Kofi Annan remarked: “arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.” Nearly
fourteen years later, the supply chain for consumer products has changed drastically and government
product safety agencies throughout the world are hiring and deploying employees with an international
focus to transcend national borders and keep pace with rapidly evolving global product safety issues.
Therefore, product safety professionals tracking the evolution of international product safety must also
be aware of the corresponding coordination among product safety agencies throughout the world in
order to fully grasp how events transpiring in the international arena may impact their company’s global
supply chain.
*Matt Howsare is Of Counsel at Mintz Levin. He was formerly Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel to the
Chairman, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. [email protected].
Reprinted with permission from The Product Safety & Recall Directory, 2014 edition.
|
|