ANSI to hold forum addressing import safety.
Press Release Summary:
ANSI will convene a one-day open forum, Building Consumer Confidence, aimed at strengthening American confidence in consumer product safety on September 26 in Washington DC. The open forum will explore how the U.S. standardization community can be best utilized to address current import safety concerns and create a safer consumer environment. It will consist of 3 panels focusing on case studies, government-specific issues, and actions that can be taken.
Original Press Release:
ANSI Event to Address Import Safety, Strengthen Consumer Confidence
From food products to children's toys, a growing influx of imported goods is failing to meet our nation's rigorous health, safety and environmental standards.
In response to rising concerns, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will convene a one-day open forum aimed at strengthening American confidence in consumer product safety. The objective is to leverage standards and related compliance programs as the core component of any new or ongoing consumer protection initiatives.
The event, Building Consumer Confidence, will be held on Wednesday, September 26, at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, DC. ANSI will bring together a broad spectrum of stakeholders to address concerns about consumer goods, particularly imports, and to develop a coordinated action plan that can be supported by consumers, industry and government.
"U.S. citizens rely on a strong partnership between the public and private sectors," said ANSI president and CEO Joe Bhatia. "Working together, we can stem the tide of unsafe consumer products entering the nation and uphold the highest possible level of consumer product safety."
Using a business roundtable format, the open forum will explore how the U.S. standardization community can be best utilized to address current import safety concerns and create a safer consumer environment. Nancy Nord, Acting Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, has been invited to deliver the keynote address. Her remarks will be followed by a series of presentations and discussion sessions that will engage participants in identifying resources, initiatives, and applicable standards and compliance programs to support this effort.
In the first of three panels, industry representatives will offer case studies of recent import safety issues, and examine opportunities for future improvement in their respective sectors. The second panel will highlight government-specific issues, focusing on federal agencies that rely upon private-sector standards and related compliance programs to ensure consumer product safety. The third panel will bring together representatives of consumer organizations, standards developing bodies, and safety certification organizations to offer their perspectives on what actions can be taken to build consumer confidence.
The event is open to all stakeholders, including consumers and consumer representatives, government legislative and regulatory bodies, industry, standards developing organizations, certification organizations, and other interested parties. There is no fee to participate; advance registration is required and space limitations may apply.
Program details, the latest agenda, and registration information are available on the event webpage.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is convening a September 27 hearing and seeking public comment on China's compliance with its World Trade Organization (WTO) accession commitments. For complete details on submitting comments, please review the July 25 Federal Register notice.
