The growing volume of consumer products imported into the United States has strained the resources of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, GAO has said in calling for more robust information collection and analysis and planning.
While CPSC’s authorities over imported consumer products have the potential to be effective, the agency has made limited progress in measuring the effectiveness of its authorities, and CPSC’s ability to implement these authorities has been constrained by competing priorities and limited resources, as well as by delays in implementing key provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Information Act, according to GAO-09-803.
It said the agency has a limited presence at U.S. ports and that it is forced to work closely with Customs and Border Protection, which faces its own challenges maintaining the flow of goods.
According to GAO, "USDA and the FDA have more robust border surveillance activities 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 IT systems that are integrated with other agency-based and CBP systems to effectively leverage their enforcement priorities with CBP."
Among GAO’s recommendations are that CPSC should quickly establish a substantial product hazard list as called for under the CPSIA, take action to improve its ability to target shipments for further screening and review at ports of entry, upgrade its strategic plan and determine if it has the staff and resources to increase oversight.
