GAO: Consumer protection agency lacks import data

GAO: Consumer protection agency lacks import data    A congressional watchdog agency said the Consumer Product Safety Commission lacks direct access to customs information that it could use to target unsafe imports.
   With the passage of the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), Congress sought to update and strengthen the commission's authority over import product safety standards, recalls, reporting and administrative penalties. The legislation required the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the progress of the commission's implementation of CPSIA.
   GAO found the commission requires more access to Customs and Border Protection's import manifest records to identify potentially unsafe imports before they enter the commercial stream.
   The commission has traditionally relied on CBP to point up potentially harmful product imports. However, CPSC is under increased pressure to prevent unsafe products from entering the United States. In 2007, the discovery of lead paint in a number of popular children's toys made in China thrust the commission into the public and congressional spotlight.
   'CPSC does not have access to key CBP import data it could use to target incoming shipments for inspection, and it has not updated its agreements with CBP to clarify each agency's roles and responsibilities,' the GAO said.
   'CPSC's activities at U.S. ports could be strengthened by better targeting incoming shipments for inspection and by improving CPSC's coordination with CBP,' the agency added. 'Otherwise, CPSC may not be able to carry out key inspection activities efficiently or to effectively leverage its enforcement priorities with CBP.'
   The GAO report also said CPSC could learn from other federal agencies, such as the Agriculture Department and Food and Drug Administration, and other overseas governments on how to improve its border surveillance and information sharing with other countries.
   'Both USDA and FDA have more robust border surveillance activities than CPSC because they obtain more data on incoming shipments, have more staff working at U.S. ports, use more developed programs to target risks, and use information technology systems that are integrated with other agency-based and CBP systems to effectively leverage their enforcement priorities with CBP,' the GAO said.
   Furthermore, the GAO said CPSC 'lacks a long-term plan with key goals' to prevent the entry of unsafe products. 'This may inhibit CPSC's ability to appropriately allocate any potential increases in agency resources or to address the safety of imported products through international means,' the agency said.
   The 96-page GAO report is available here.