CPSC Working with EU, Canada & Australia to Align 3 Standards
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has informed the public that in February 2011, it launched a collaborative pilot project with product safety authorities in Australia, Canada, and Europe to improve the safety of corded window coverings, chair-top booster seats, and baby slings through closely-aligned safety requirements.
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Parties Can Use Consensus to Develop Regulations or Voluntary Standard
The pilot participants will seek consensus on the hazards of these products and potential solutions. Each jurisdiction can then use the consensus positions to develop regulations or voluntary standards, according to their preferred model. If a jurisdiction chooses to have a voluntary standard through a standards development organization (SDO), the consumer product safety agency will share the consensus recommendations and encourage the SDO to collaborate with other SDOs in the markets of other participating agencies to achieve closely aligned standards.
Regulators & Manufacturers Interested in Standard Alignment
CPSC states that aligning consumer product safety requirements around the world is a shared goal among regulatory bodies. In addition, manufacturers often argue that differing requirements from multiple jurisdictions can add complexity to the manufacturing process, and that complexity increases the risk of error and the costs of manufacturing. Consumers have even questioned how a product can be considered safe for children in one country, but hazardous for children in another part of the world.
Participants Say Coordination Among Standards Bodies is Key to Alignment
The participants agree that alignment efforts aimed at improving safety offers a potential solution to these challenges. In particular, they believe that coordination among the SDOs is the key to success. They also believe that the consensus positions should unite around mutually agreeable arrangements between the SDOs involved and the International Standardization Organization (ISO) process.
CPSC Recently Suggested Similar Approach for Toy Standard
Note that CPSC staff recently presented a proposal on alignment of international toy standards which advocated a similar approach of achieving alignment through private sector standards body cooperation. (See ITT’s Online Archives or 05/18/11 news, 11051824, for BP summary of this proposal.)