CPSC Stopped 680 Import Shipments in First Half of FY 2013
The Consumer Product Safety Commission screened more than 12,400 import shipments during the first half of fiscal year 2013, stopping about 680 of them that contained a total of 6.1 million units of violative or defective products, it said in an import stoppage report for the period Oct. 1, 2012, through March 30, 2013. About 600 of those stoppages were for children’s products, containing over 1.2 million units, CPSC said. That’s up from the 450 shipments stopped containing about 900,000 units during the same period in FY 2012, CPSC said.
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CPSC’s screening activities have been aided by the risk assessment methodology pilot done alongside CBP, it said. The RAM pilot targeting system allows CPSC investigators to analyze data provided by CBP and identify high-risk shipments of consumer products arriving at U.S. ports of entry, and then make calculated and effective decisions about which shipments to inspect, CPSC said. Not only does it protect U.S. consumers, but it also helps companies avoid costly recalls by catching violative product before it enters U.S. commerce, the commission said. RAM also allows CPSC to recognize compliant, low risk cargo to prevent these shipments from being delayed at the ports, it said. “Although the program is still in the pilot phase, the agency hopes to secure funding to expand the RAM program in the future,” said CPSC.
Of the non-children’s products stopped by CPSC, about one quarter were shipments of holiday lights, followed by cigarette lighters (17 shipments, or 19%), fireworks (15 shipments, or 17%), and hairdryers (17%). Children’s product shipments were mostly stopped by CPSC and CBP for lead violations (335, or 57%).