EU Toy Standards

After a series of damaging toy safety scandals involving products from China, European Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva called for the introduction of obligatory "Made in ..." labels for some products imported into the EU and urged the United States to work with Europe to avoid further safety recalls and restore consumer confidence.

Kuneva, supported by Italy's International Trade Minister Emma Bonino, said this week that a "Made in ..." label system was "essential for the traceability" of imported goods, and added that "the ball is in the member states' court."

The European Union at present has no joint position on marks of origin, which exist in some member states.

In 2005 the European Commission presented a proposal to introduce such a system for some imports, as is done in Japan, China and the United States. That plan, targeted especially at clothes, shoes and jewelry, has remained paralyzed due to opposition from countries including Britain and Germany.

Bonino recognized that sufficient support was not there yet, with opponents apparently concerned at "the bureaucratic obstacles and the costs," involved. "But it seems to work well in the United States and Japan," she said, adding that a "Made in…" label would bring the EU up to the level of its main trading partners.

Parliamentarians call for stronger CE mark

European parliamentarians are expected to urge the European Commission to give more credibility to the European "CE" standard mark and to reinforce market surveillance with sanctions available for those who break the rules. Parliamentarians are also calling call for the consideration of a new security label for the consumer.

At present many consumers believe the CE logo assures that the product has been rigorously tested by European authorities, whereas in fact it is just a self-declaration of market worthiness by the manufacturer, or a type of publicity, said Laura Degallaix from BEUC, the European Consumers' Organization.

According to BEUC, experts have been examining possible revisions to the rules on toy safety for over two years, including beefing up controls on those toys deemed to pose special risks.

Two weeks ago, European Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen said that the proposals for boosting toy safety will be presented in December.

"I would like to see the mandatory certification of certain types of toys," he said. Verheugen remained vague on exactly which items would be subject to tests, though he did say toys containing cancer-causing agents would be targeted.

Toxic paint and magnets cause most concerns

Of particular interest in these examinations have been the chemicals contained in such things as hand paints and makeup, and small magnets that children could detach and possibly swallow. These were the main concerns in the scandal that broke in August over standards in toys from China.

Kuneva summed up the concerns, as the key Christmas period approaches. "There is no room for complacency, not on safety," she said. "Not where children particularly are concerned."

She also called on the US to join with the EU in sharing more information about China's monitoring of toy manufacturing in an attempt to avoid the sort of scandal and product recalls that affected US toy manufacturer Mattel over the summer.

"I would like to encourage our American partners to open the information flow," Kuneva said, adding that she would press for greater US-European cooperation on toy safety during her visit to Washington at the end of this week.

Mattel recall leads to discussions on international standards

Mattel recalled more than 18 million Chinese-made toys worldwide in July and August because they contained the potentially deadly small magnets and were colored with paints containing dangerously high amounts of lead.

Mattel later apologized to Beijing, acknowledging that most of the recalls of Chinese-made toys were due to design flaws made by the company itself.

"The apology, though delayed, should help dispel the suspicion American customers harbor against Chinese-made products and clean up the stain the recalls left on the innocent Chinese workers who make a living doing honest labor," the official English-language China Daily newspaper reported last week.