AAFA Calls on CPSC to Work With States, Prevent Conflicting Product Safety Regs
The Consumer Product Safety Commission needs to work the state and local governments to align product safety regulations across all levels of government and prevent a patchwork of state and local regulations from burdening industry, said the American Apparel & Footwear Association in comments (here) submitted to the agency ahead of a hearing on CPSC priorities held June 25. The commission should work toward greater mutual recognition of international standards and testing, said the letter.
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The “drastic increase” seen recently in state and county enforcement of product safety regulations has made it difficult for companies to comply with “multiple reporting requirements, labeling specifications, and bans that impose additional, and often contradictory, requirements for compliance, said the AAFA. “We are only in the beginning stages of what appears to be a wave of state and local regulations” that ignore the federal product safety framework implemented by CPSC, it said. “We recommend the commission use its authority to work with local and state legislators and regulators to ensure that all new regulations are created in sync with national regulations and that testing requirements flow from federal requirements in order to maximize consumer safety and minimize testing costs,” said the AAFA.
CPSC should also avail itself of pending free trade agreements and other fora to continue its work toward aligned product safety regulations and mutual recognition of testing and standards, said the AAFA. “When testing for compliance with a particular regulation, duplicative testing is counterproductive as it does not provide any greater assurance of compliance,” said the letter. "Presently, the Commission has the opportunity through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) negotiations between the European Union and the United States to promote global harmonization and mutual recognition of standards. Other opportunities exist through the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC),” it said. "We strongly encourage the CPSC to continue and accelerate these efforts.”