EU Proposes New Import Requirements to Increase Toy Safety
The European Commission last week proposed a new toy safety regulation that could lead to new requirements for EU importers. The law, designed to “protect children from potential risks in toys,” prohibits the use of certain harmful chemicals in toys and will require all toy imports to have a “Digital Product Passport.”
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Under the proposed law, importers will have to submit digital passports for “all toys at the EU borders,” including toys sold online, and the EU will create a new online system to screen those passports and “identify the shipments that need detailed controls at customs.” If the EU deems any toys as “presenting risks not clearly foreseen” by the proposal, the bloc will also have the power to “require that these toys are taken off the market.”
Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for the internal market, said the law will lead to increased enforcement with the aid of “digital technologies, allowing unsafe toys to be more easily detected, notably at EU borders.” The digital passport will “make it easier for national inspectors and customs officers to control” toy imports, the commission said in a question-and-answer document.