Tuesday, August 18, 2009
While U.S. imports have almost doubled since the late 1990s, inspections by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) at America’s ports have declined, and quite steeply in recent years. In 1999, the CPSC gathered 1,348 product samples at ports of entry, but only 616 in 2006, 748 in 2007, and 1,170 last year.
The problem, according to a new study by the Government Accountability Office, stems in part from a lack of cooperation by the Customs and Border Protection, which has failed to abide by a 2002 agreement with the CPSC to provide information that describes cargo entering the United States. Customs officials reportedly don’t consider the manifest data specific enough for the consumer agency’s needs to turn it over. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration has had no difficulty receiving the same information from Customs.
GAO investigators added in their report that even if Customs begins sharing data with the CPSC, the consumer agency needs more staff at ports and more analytical equipment to properly to do its job. Inspecting products from China is especially critical for the CPSC, given the recent controversies over tainted goods coming into the U.S., and the fact that Chinese products now make up 42% of all American imports.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Safety Agency Lacks Risk Data, Report Says (Associated Press)
Better Information and Planning Would Strengthen CPSC’s Oversight of Imported Products (Government Accountability Office) (PDF)
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