This holiday season CBP again partnered with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to protect and educate consumers. In late November, Vera Adams, executive director of CBP’s trade enforcement and facilitation office, joined U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Hal Stratton at a press conference aimed at educating consumers and providing tips for making safer shopping choices.

Last year, the safety commission reported 16 toy-related deaths involving children under age 15. Most of these deaths occurred when a child choked on balls or in incidents involving tricycles. Also, in 2004, an estimated 210,000 children were treated for toy-related injuries in U.S. hospital emergency rooms.

“Our Customs and Border Protection officers seize goods, including toys, that represent a danger to public health and safety and goods that violate intellectual property rights which cost the U.S. economy between $200 billion to $250 billion in lost profits and revenue,” Adams said.

Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

Vera Adams, executive director of CBP’s trade enforcement and facilitation office, discusses toy safety at a December press conference. CBP officers pay close attention to imported toys that may present a hazard or violate intellectual property rights.

Protecting from product hazards
CBP and the CPSC work together to examine, sample and test shipments of goods to prevent any consumer product that presents a “substantial product hazard” from entering the commerce of the United States.

“The mission of the CPSC is keeping consumers safe,” said Commissioner Stratton. “And that is accomplished in a variety of ways: by recalling those products that may pose a danger to consumers, educating consumers on product dangers and how to avoid them and assisting consumers in making smart choices.”

CPSC has access to CBP’s databases and can identify shipments and their dates of arrival so that they can be targeted for examination, seizure and, if necessary, denied entry. CBP detains shipments until authorized by CPSC to release them or until the importer takes corrective action to bring the shipment into compliance.

Toy imports rising
As the percentage of toys produced abroad has grown, so too has the role of CBP officers and agents. As of mid-May, U.S. toy imports were up 39 percent for the year versus the same period in 2004, according to federal trade figures. So it is not a surprise that toys were the second most-seized import in the first half of 2005 and they accounted for 15 percent of all seized US imports.

For example, last September in the port of Pittsburgh during a cargo examination, CBP seized a shipment of more than 10,000 children’s paint sets that had not been tested or certified before importation. In Los Angeles last winter CBP seized more than 127,000 plastic toys for various CPSC violations.

CBP officers also seize goods that violate intellectual property rights and these may also present safety concerns. Intellectual property rights provides for legal protection of intangible property like patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. For example, you can’t legally put a Barbie® logo on a product unless it has been produced and distributed under the Mattel Inc. auspices. Intellectual property rights also regulate the copying of discoveries, inventions, identifying symbols and creative expressions.

Fakes mean big money and big risks
Many people do not recognize the financial impact of intellectual property rights violations. These violations defraud the consumer and cost the U.S. economy between $200 billion and $250 billion in lost profits and revenue. And business in pirated and counterfeit goods is on the increase. During the period between 2000 and 2004, IPR seizures tripled in value.

Not only do counterfeit goods violate the rights of trademark, patent and copyright owners but also consumers may risk their health and lives or the health and lives of their children when they use fake products.

Toys can pose a risk if they are counterfeit. Fake merchandise may look the same as the original but they are not made to adhere to standards. A plush toy that would normally be appropriate for children under three is sewn to meet a certain standard. Similarly, the eyes, ears, noses are attached so that they cannot be easily pulled off. The toy itself may be made from fire-retardant material or material that does not pose a health threat to a toddler.

A fake or “knock off” product does not have to meet any of these criteria, nor is there any reassurance of quality control for the product. In essence, no one knows what the product contains or how it was manufactured. Paint on a product could contain lead, the stuffing in a toy may be contaminated and the list of possible dangers goes on and on.

Trafficking in counterfeit toys is not kid stuff. Producers of knock-offs have huge incentives. Toy seizures ranked sixth among commodities seized for intellectual property rights violations and represented 9 percent of the total domestic value of these seizures. For fiscal year 2005, the domestic value of toys seized was over $8.5 million, an increase of more than 115 percent from fiscal year 2004.

And its not just toys that pose danger
Counterfeit batteries used to make toys operate are especially dangerous. Some of these “fakes” are made to look like a well-known brand of battery but they have been found to leak acid or have been manufactured using antiquated technology. Some contain mercury, which is extremely toxic and may leach into products they come into contact with. Still others have burst open, potentially resulting in chemical burns.

Extension cords that carry a counterfeit Underwriters’ Laboratory (UL) certification label can be dangerous too. Underwriters’ Laboratory is one of several widely recognized testing firms that certify that a product has undergone and passed a variety of tests that ensure the safety of the product. A consumer may feel reassured by these labels, but they too can be bogus.

What are consumers to do?
The best advice is to purchase toys and the necessary cables, batteries and attachments from reputable and well-known sources. If a popular toy—a stuffed toy, a doll, a scooter, or an electronic game—is for sale for a “too good to be true” price, then it probably is not true and the consumer should use discretion in buying it.

If consumers have already purchased gifts they should make sure to check that their gift lists do not include any of the recalled toys or children's products on the Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site. Check for product recalls at www.cpsc.gov. Consumers also can call CPSC's toll-free hotline at 1-800-638-CPSC. For information about all types of recalls, visit www.recalls.gov.