HONG KONG AGREES TO PURSUE MOU WITH U.S. CONSUMER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HONG KONG 000149 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM, PASS CPSC FOR RICHARD OBRIEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN EINV ETRD USTR HK CH SUBJECT: HONG KONG AGREES TO PURSUE MOU WITH U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMMISSION REF: 09 HONG KONG 1452 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Hong Kong Government's (HKG) Customs and Excise Department (CED) told U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) Director of International Programs and Intergovernmental Affairs Richard O'Brien on January 12 that CED would work in 2010 on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the CPSC. The MOU will facilitate CPSC training of CED officers and provide more rapid and comprehensive exchanges of information about product safety investigations and regulatory efforts. O'Brien addressed public concerns about alleged cadmium-for-lead substitutions in children's jewelry made in China. He also pledged further CPSC efforts to work with international jurisdictions - especially the European Union and China - to harmonize consumer product safety standards and regulations. A senior PRC product safety official requested changes in CPSC product recall announcements related to goods made in China, arguing that such recalls were often related to product design flaws originating outside China; the CPSC's press releases failed to mention this and were therefore "misleading." O'Brien also explained why the CPSC might not accept China's regional export certification laboratories (CIQs) in its third party testing program for children's products. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) COMMENT: The Associated Press report about cadmium in Chinese manufactured children's jewelry exported to the United States broke just as O'Brien touched down on January 11 in Hong Kong. He addressed the issue at several speaking engagements attended by over 800 global consumer product safety experts from government and industry. His public appearances and cadmium-related media interviews in Hong Kong (including CNN) demonstrated Hong Kong's utility as a media center for all of Asia and enabled CPSC to communicate around the clock about its immediate efforts to address the problem. The apparent widespread use of cadmium in Chinese-manufactured children's jewelry was highlighted by industry observers as an example of the developing, often ad hoc nature of consumer product safety oversight in China. While deep concerns remain about the safety of consumer products manufactured in China, tangible progress has been made. CPSC recalled far fewer Chinese-made goods in 2009, compared with the prior year. To support this trend, the CPSC strives to maintain its largely amicable and productive working relationship with China's General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ). An MOU with CED would enhance CPSC's communications and relationship with the HKG, while enabling CPSC to gain valuable insights into a key component of the Southeast China supply chain that provides a large percentage of all consumer products sold in the United States. End comment. Background -------------- ¶3. (U) CPSC Director of International Programs and Intergovernmental Affairs Richard O'Brien met with consumer product safety regulators and business leaders from around the world on January 12-13 in Hong Kong. He addressed over 800 individuals at several toy safety-related events, including an APEC Toy Safety Initiative conference. He met with CED (the HKG's consumer product safety enforcement body) to discuss a potential MOU, held trilateral discussions with senior PRC and European Union product safety regulators, and spoke with AQSIQ about areas of mutual concern and possible cooperation. CED Agrees to Explore MOU -------------- ¶4. (SBU) CED Head of Consumer Protection SM Wong told O'Brien on January 13 that Hong Kong accepted CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum's August 2009 proposal to explore a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CED and CPSC (reftel). O'Brien reiterated that the non-binding MOU should be a "broad, cooperative platform" that enables the CPSC to: provide training to CED officers; facilitate more rapid and comprehensive sharing of intelligence about potentially non-compliant consumer products leaving Hong Kong for the United States; and share non-public information about product investigations and regulatory rulings. ¶5. (SBU) O'Brien said CPSC would soon send CED a draft MOU modeled after CPSC's April 2004 agreement with AQSIQ. CPSC will tailor the draft MOU for Hong Kong to suit regulatory and market differences between Hong Kong and the PRC. Wang agreed with O'Brien's proposal to try and finalize the MOU HONG KONG 00000149 002 OF 003 text by 2010 year-end, if possible. CPSC Addresses Cadmium Concerns -------------- ¶6. (U) In a video recorded message to the APEC Toy Safety Dialogue by CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum, in O'Brien's media interviews (including CNN),and at various toy safety events attended by over 800 government and industry representatives, CPSC effectively addressed an Associated Press news report that Chinese manufacturers used large amounts of cadmium in children's jewelry sold in the United States. Cadmium is a known carcinogen deemed especially dangerous to children. O'Brien said the CPSC immediately launched an investigation into the cadmium report and would work quickly to address the issue. ¶7. (U) O'Brien explained that children's jewelry is not categorized as a toy within U.S. product safety laws and regulations, and therefore did not fall under the USG's tight regulatory restrictions on hazardous substances such as lead and certain phthalates in toys. However, O'Brien said the CPSC has broad powers under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) to investigate and prevent the retail sale of any children's products containing harmful substances such as cadmium or other heavy metals. (Note: Industry observers suspect that Chinese manufacturers began to substitute cadmium for lead after very tight lead limits came into effect under the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008. Cadmium melts at a much lower temperature than zinc (a much safer lead substitute),consumes less energy than zinc during the manufacturing process, and is much cheaper than zinc. End note.) Harmonization of Global Toy Safety Standards -------------- ¶8. (U) Participants at each of O'Brien's public meetings described difficulties faced by each part of the toy supply chain (i.e., manufacturers, importers and retailers) in complying with disparate toy safety regulations from the United States, the European Union, other international jurisdictions, and even from various U.S. states. Acknowledging the benefits of international synchronization of toy safety regulations, O'Brien said the CPSC would continue discussions with its counterparts in Europe and China toward that goal. He noted that global regulators made progress in 2009 toward a future common approach on product tracking labels. He urged toy industry leaders to suggest priority areas for harmonization, including submission of specific ideas that could be accepted by regulators in disparate jurisdictions. AQSIQ Requests Changes in CPSC Recall Announcements... -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) AQSIQ Director General Wang Xin told O'Brien on January 12 that his agency was concerned that CPSC product recall announcements for goods manufactured in China were misleading. He said most recently recalled products manufactured in China resulted from product design flaws originating outside China. By only including China as the country of manufacture in its recall announcements, Wang said CPSC unfairly placed all the blame for design-related recalls on Chinese manufacturers. O'Brien acknowledged that flawed product designs were often the primary cause of recalls, and said he would discuss AQSIQ's concerns with his CPSC colleagues. O'Brien pointed out to Wang that even when designs didn't originate with Chinese producers, they should adopt the best practice of examining the design for possible problems. He also noted the overall progress made by Chinese toy manufacturers in improving the safety of toys exported to the United States. The CPSC recalled only 41 toys in 2009, down significantly from 162 in 2008. ...And Wants CPSC Certification of AQSIQ Labs -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The CPSC does not recognize product test results from AQSIQ-owned or controlled testing laboratories (CIQ laboratories),but accepts product safety test results from 66 private sector and other government testing laboratories in China (including Hong Kong). The competence and independence of CPSC-certified "third-party" labs play a crucial role in ensuring the safety of sensitive imports such as toys and other children's products. AQSIQ's Wang reiterated his agency's previous requests to the CPSC to HONG KONG 00000149 003 OF 003 certify and accept product test results from AQSIQ labs in China. O'Brien said U.S. law prohibits CPSC certification of any testing labs that enjoy foreign government preferences withheld from competing private sector labs. In addition to being PRC-owned, O'Brien said AQSIQ labs enjoy at least one key government preference currently denied to competing labs - i.e., the ability to issue consumer product export certificates in China. Absent structural changes that sever the PRC's influence over AQSIQ labs, the CPSC would remain unable to accept the labs' test results, O'Brien concluded. ¶11. (U) This cable has been cleared by CPSC's O'Brien. MARUT