 Hi, and thank you for attending today's webinar, which will go over key CPSC Product Safety Requirements and an overview of the importing processes for importers, customs brokers, and freight forwarders. My name is Will Cusie, and I am joined by my colleague Maggie Sarek. I am on the Small Business Ombudsman Team, and Maggie is on the Import Surveillance Team, or in the Office of Import Surveillance. Before we get started, there are a few items I would like to go over. All registrants will receive an email in the days following the webinar with a video of the recording and a PDF copy of the slides. In the PDF that you get, there will be clickable links. So as we're going through, you'll see some links to pages on cpsc.gov. Those will all be clickable from the PDF. If you are attending live, you can submit questions in writing through the GoToWebinar system itself, and then we'll go through them and answer some of them on air at the end of the presentation. So it depends on our timing. We want to stay on time. We'll answer as many as we can. If we don't get a chance to answer your question during the webinar, we will follow up with you in the days following the webinar in writing via email. You have all your emails because you've registered, so we'll be able to see who asked which questions and answer those questions in writing. You can also send us an email at any point now or later to sbo at cpsc.gov. That is the small business email, sbo at cpsc.gov. And lastly, I just want to point out that the slides are actually downloadable right now from the handout section of the GoToWebinar program. So you can download them right now and save them right now or you can wait for our email that will be coming in the days following. The presentation agenda for today will be broken up into two parts. I will give the first half of the presentation on the CPSC Part of Safety Requirements. And the main idea that the requirements we picked because obviously as many of you know, there are lots of different CPSC requirements. The ones that we picked are ones where we see lots of questions from the important community specifically and also where we see lots of issues where there might be lots of violations. So part of the reason here behind our presentation is to give you the knowledge and the information so that you can avoid enforcement action and corrective action. That's the idea here is we want to educate you to avoid the pitfalls that we see other folks fall into. And part two will be given by my colleague Maggie in the Office of Inforced Surveillance. It will go over various processes for CPSC at the port, how these things are done, what you can expect if your goods are stopped or targeted or screened by the CPSC. Then she'll go into some statistics to provide some context on what we're seeing and what we're doing at the ports. And then she'll end by going over 2A messaging and what's happening there and some updates on 2A messaging. And then at the end we'll have some time for questions. Hopefully we'll have a time for quite a few questions from you all. So jumping right in, the first part of my presentation on labeling requirements. There are lots of CPSC labeling requirements. The most commonly asked about one is about tracking labels. Big takeaway here, children's products must be labeled with tracking information on the product in its packaging if practicable to do so. Now practicable is a word that is not very common, but what it really means is, is it possible? Is it technologically feasible for that tracking information to be on the product in its packaging? The answer is yes. Then generally speaking, there is an expectation that both the product and the packaging will be marked with permanent tracking information. Now I have a whole slide devoted to tracking labels, so I won't get too deep into it right this second. There are also labeling requirements for various types of small parts hazards. Those can be found at 16 CFR 1500.19 and 1500.20. You can see the product categories covered here, small balls, marbles, latex balloons, and small parts generally have labeling requirements. Children's toys, the toy standard has lots of different labeling requirements for general children's toys for very specific types of children's toys. There are producers and markings requirements, which are above and beyond kind of your general children's product labeling requirements. So there's a little bit more going on here for children's toys. So if you're making or importing a children's toy, it's a good idea to check out ASTM F963 to find out exactly which types of labeling requirements apply to you and your products. Adorable infant or toddler products, that's a very specifically defined term and concept, legally defined term. It includes about 20 different types of product categories, each of which has an ASTM standard attached to it with various types of performance requirements, but each one of those also has specific labeling requirements and also outer packaging labeling requirements that you need to be aware of. So these are things like cribs and strollers, station and activity center, skates and enclosures. All of these products have specific labeling requirements that need to be adhered to. A couple of label requirements found within the FHSA, the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. They're making household cleaners or other types of hazardous household substances. There are likely labeling requirements for you that fall under the FHSA. This is similar to the GHS system that some of you might be familiar with internationally or if you work with OSHA that are working with the GHS system. It's similar to GHS, but different. Same idea, but different different requirements for consumer product, hazardous substances labeling. And before I move on to tracking labels, again, art materials here must bear the statement conforms to ASTMD 4236 after it's been reviewed by a toxicologist. So our materials, common question we get, if I throw it in here, there are separate requirements, distinct requirements for art materials and a labeling requirement that goes along with that. Okay, tracking labels itself, the tracking label requirement, again, information must be permanently fixed to the children's product as packaging if practicable, if possible to do so. One information has to be in that tracking label. This is the question we get. A manufacturer importer or private labeler name. But here's a good example that we get a lot, one that applies to importers. You have a U.S. importer that is working with a foreign overseas manufacturer. Who is the responsible party? Who is required to have their business name listed as part of the tracking label? It would be the U.S. importer. It would be the U.S. importer, not the foreign overseas manufacturer in that situation. Now, there's nothing to prohibit you having more than one business name, but at a minimum in that situation, it would be the U.S. importer's name, business name, LLC, whatever name they want to go with. That would be commonly recognized by consumers that has to be on there. Okay, location and date of production, location, generally speaking, can just be the country of origin. There's a lot of misunderstanding here. The country of origin is almost always sufficient. The only time you would need more than just the country of origin is if you are producing the same product in more than one location within a country. That does not apply to that many people. So as long as you can ascertain the exact specific location from that country of origin designation, then that is a compliant component of your tracking label. Okay, the date of production along with the batch or run number can be combined into one unique code. It doesn't have to be a number even. It can be a number, it can be letters, numbers and letters, symbols, colored squares. I mean, it can be anything you want it to be as long as it's unique and as long as it allows you to ascertain the required tracking information from that permanent marketing on the product and the packaging. Okay, a couple of other common questions we get. One question is, if I have my packaging is just a clear plastic poly bag around the product and the tracking label is viewable through the plastic. Do I need a tracking label on the plastic itself. The answer would be no, as long as it's viewable. If it's not viewable through the packaging, then you would still need to put something on the plastic bag itself. You can view more FAQs at cpsc.gov or slash tracking label. It's not necessarily always a black and white scenario with the tracking label requirement there are lots of ins and outs there's some gray areas. And depending on specific scenarios. There might be slightly different requirements. Another good example would be jewelry jewelry is something where there's not an expectation that the jewelry itself has a permanent tracking label because it would ruin the aesthetics of the product it would probably be too big. So jewelry is a situation where just the packaging just kind of like a throwaway hang tag would be sufficient for jewelry. So it really depends on the exact circumstances and a lot of situations as to whether, you know, it's practicable to do something. Okay, so today, we are going to be doing some audience polling to see if you all have been listening. And my colleague Sarah was also on our team that's going to be running the polls for us. I'm going to read the question and then Sarah will launch the poll for us. I sell children's products in clear packaging or a poly bag and already have a tracking label on the product itself. Do I need to put a tracking label on the clear packaging as well. So Sarah's going to launch this poll for you. We'll give everyone a chance to answer everyone select yes or no do I need to put a tracking label on the clear packaging. We'll just give you a couple more seconds and then Sarah's going to close the poll. Okay, looks like the vast majority of you are saying no. 88% of you are saying no let's see let's see if you're correct. Okay, you are correct. No, if all tracking information is visible on the product through outer or clear packaging tracking info does not need to also be on the outer packaging. You are correct. I kind of gave away the answer. But it shows that you all were listening. Again, cpsc.gov for slash tracking label for additional FAQ is again some of these specific scenarios there's there's it's not a black and white answer. Okay, moving along to the second section of my presentation my half the presentation. We're focusing on testing for children's products and focusing on testing for children's products since that is where we get a lot of questions. There is there are testing requirements for certain types of general use products. We're not really focusing on that today we're going to we're going to focus on the children's side of things. There's kind of like three bullets here that represents common pitfalls that I see the people mistakes that people make, or things that people maybe aren't always completely aware of. The big takeaway here is that the vast majority of children's products, unless you are a small batch manufacturer and certain scenarios, what your children's product would have to be tested to applicable requirements as cpsc accepted third party laboratory. These are not private laboratory these are not government run laboratories these are private laboratories. These are worth varying pricing and varying procedures in place so I encourage you to get quotes and contact more than one laboratory to see what makes sense for you when you're trying to get testing done. Here's here's where I see some issues testing on children's products must be conducted annually in the vast majority of situations. There are some narrow situations where two or three year intervals could be compliant. But generally speaking children's products must be conducted. That's something to keep in mind. This is regardless of any material changes or any changes to the product itself. Okay, number two, testing needs to be conducted on cpsc requirements. It sounds like an obvious statement, but you'd be surprised. How many people think that if they're importing children's toys, the n 71 testing would be acceptable here it's not does not need us requirements. And that goes for any jurisdiction you're importing into generally speaking, you're importing your products into Canada, you have to meet the Canadian product safety requirements health Canada as the agency up there. If you're importing it to Europe you have to meet the N71 and European requirements. So the big takeaway here is, regardless of what jurisdiction you're importing it to you have to be meeting though that jurisdiction requirements and that's definitely true of the United States. Okay, number three component part certification or supplier conducted testing. For those situations the testing needs to have been conducted on representative samples of the exact components or products, you will be importing. So it can't be a situation where the test report your supplier is giving you look similar to your actual product but it's not identical. That's not sufficient you can't rely on that you have no way of knowing if that's the same product regardless of pigment could be a different product produced by a different factory at a different point in time with different, completely different ingredients. The testing has to be the same as your product. Where can you find a laboratory CPSC. go forward slash lab search we have a lab search interface that will allow you to find the CPSC accepted laboratory all around the world. You can find all kinds of different CPSC requirements. You need help finding a laboratory we're happy to help you find a laboratory SBO at CPSC.gov if you have questions we're happy to help you do that. We're not endorsing any but we can help you run the search. If you're trying to pinpoint a specific set of requirements or a specific location, we can help you do that. Okay audience pulling number two I'm going to read it and then Sarah is going to launch it for us. I'm importing silicone fidget toys colored blue, orange, pink and green. My overseas supplier has shared a test report with me from a CPSC accepted laboratory conducted three months ago that shows silicone fidget toys that look identical to mine, except they are purple and red. And I rely on that test report to certify my silicone fidget toys is compliant to applicable CPSC safety requirements. Sarah is going to launch the poll for us. So the question here, can I rely on that test report to certify my silicone fidget toys as compliant? Can I rely on it? Yes or no? We'll give you a few more seconds here. We're going to go ahead and close the poll and review the results. Okay, the overwhelming majority of you said no 90% of you said no, you cannot. And let's see if that's the right answer. That is correct. No, even though the test report appears to be valid for the products tested, it is clear that the products tested are not identical to the ones you are selling different coloration as should be a red flag for you. So you would need to ensure that the proper testing was conducted. That would be a red flag where you would want to then take complete control over the testing process. A lot of people rely on the factory that they're working with to just interface with the laboratory and get the testing done. And they're not really thinking about it in a direct way. This is a mistake. You can be given golden samples that pass the test results and then your actual products are not compliant. Another way to do it is to contact the lab yourself and have the lab pull the products off the production line at the factory so that you're getting a truly representative sample of products to see if they're compliant. It's the best way to do it. So you just have to exercise do care here when you're working with an overseas supplier and you're not there physically. You're not going to be told that you're not being given golden samples. You're not being given a test report that's not representative of your product. That's really important piece here. Okay, moving along to the third section of my presentation. This is probably the most important piece is where we get a lot of questions. Who is responsible for issuing a certificate. This is a common question we get manufacturers and importers and specifically we're talking about domestic manufacturers or importers. Importers don't have to be based in the United States importer can be based in lots of foreign countries and have an agreement with us customs and word production to do that importing. It doesn't have to be a US importer, but we're talking about domestic manufacturer or US importer whichever situation applies. So again back to our other example, running labeling if we have in a situation where it's the foreign manufacturer in a US importer, it's the US importer that is responsible here for proving and certifying compliance for their product. Which products require a certificate. Now for children that's all children's products every single children's product even if there's no actual testing required would have to produce a CPC every single one but the more important point for children is that not every children's product safety requirement needs to be certified in a CPC. So I'll go over a little bit later which ones don't have to be. But big takeaway here is that all children products need a CPC, but not all requirements need to be certified or tested in a CPC we have actually have a page that lists out the exact list of the rules that require third party testing in a certificate. If you download that handout from the handouts tab, or if you get it via email. This link will be clickable you can review the entire list of rules that require third party testing and a certificate. Okay, what about general use products in a GCC we have a similar list for general use products. This is the list you're seeing it before you we also have a page that lists these out along with the standard numbers or the statutory citations. A couple of points about GCC is not all general use products require a GCC only general use products that are subject to one of these requirements has to have a GCC produced and also not every general use product that has requirements needs to produce a GCC so if you're subject to FHSA labeling or art material labeling and standard. You don't have to certify that in a GCC so only products indicated and listed here have to be certified in a GCC for general use products and again we have a complete list that's clickable from the PDF handout. Okay, so I alluded to it requirements that do not need to appear in a CPC or GCC. Compliance must still be insured compliance would still be mandatory, but you don't have to certify those requirements in CPC or GCC most common one tracking labels tracking information, or just labeling in general does not have to be certified in a CPC or GCC labeling in registration cards that are a requirement for durable internal products don't have to be tested and certified instructional literature and again other types of safety label requirements do not have to be certified generally speaking in a CPC or GCC on product certification there's a handful of standards that have kind of an on product certification comment. Those would also not need to be certified and verified. And there's actually some some substantive requirements performance requirements that don't have to be certified in a CPC either so we're talking about 1500 point 48 and 1500 point 49 those are sharp points and sharp edges. Those sections are not required to be tested and certified in CPC. So there are some that fall outside 1500 point 53 as well, which is a use and abuse testing. So there are a couple of performance based requirements that in certain situations do not have to be tested or certified in your CPC, but compliance would still be mandatory if it's applicable to you. So that's an important point compliance would be mandatory but proven compliance would not be in certain situations. The requirements are required in a C and a certificate in a CPC or GCC the requirements are the same the elements are the same depending on a CPC or GCC. A description of the product this could be multiple products multiple skews. As long as it's accounted for in the testing information at the end of this document. You don't have to produce a separate CPC or GCC for every single product. It's better than one for every single one up to you how you want to do it as long as it's clear. Citation to each CPC safety rule. You can go back to those pages I mentioned the rules requiring a CPC or rules requiring GCC to see which those are that's the full list so you can go back and double check which ones are applying to you which ones you had tested from your testing laboratory. Importer domestic manufacturers contact information. Again this does not have to be a US address or US importer be a foreign address that's a really important point. This contact information. Again, it's it's generally speaking not the foreign manufacturer if there is a applicable US importer. That's a clear that's an important point. The information for the person maintaining the test records this can be someone different doesn't have to be the same person is number three doesn't have to be someone in the US can be anywhere. As long as they're responsible for maintaining those test records for usually about five years depending on the requirements. Date and place of manufacture. It's gonna be a range of dates. Maybe you're producing your batch over a range of dates and be arranged doesn't have to be an exact point in time. If you're not sure you want to be specific enough to indicate generally speaking at least the province or the state where it's being manufactured location of the testing the contact information. This is information for the laboratory that you're using to certify compliance to verify and prove that your products are actually compliant. And also if you're relying on any legal determinations or citations that might exempt you from certain testing requirements, you would also want to list that information in section six, as well. Availability of certificates, the certificates must accompany each product or shipment, but that can be done electronically doesn't have to be physically in each shipment doesn't have to be physically in each box. So electronically via website via email. Some other electronic portal would be acceptable. A copy must be furnished each US based distributor or retailer of the product. And there's no requirement to provide this document to the ultimate consumer. And really important a copy must be made available on upon request within 24 hours within 24 hours. That's really important people mess this up sometimes. If CPC requires you is asking for your CPC. And your supporting testing documentation has to be submitted back to CPC personnel within 24 hours of the time and day that the request was made. Now of course, sometimes there are extenuating circumstances. That would be kind of decided on a case by case, but the requirement is 24 hours. That's very important people mess that up sometimes. You can find sample CPC sample GCC is on these websites. Again, these links will be clickable from your handout. These are really helpful pages if you're trying to figure out how to create this document. These are not documents that you submit for approval, or have to get registered, something that you create based upon passing test results. Okay audience polling question number three. Do I need to certify compliance to the tracking level requirements in my CPC. Do I need to certify compliance to the track level requirement in my CPC. Yes or no. Okay, so there's going to go ahead and close the poll. Okay, about two thirds of you are saying no, and about a third are saying yes. So let's see what the right answer is. Right answer is no you do not as I stated earlier, way more requirements, including the tracking level requirement does not need to be certified in your CPC. You have to ensure compliance, but you do not need a laboratory to verify that your tracking label is compliant and you do not need to include a citation to the track level requirement in your CPC. So under section two when we're talking about children's product safety rules, the citation to tracking labels would not appear there. It would not have to appear. Okay, a couple of more slides and I'm going to hand it over to Maggie. The regulatory robot is a tool an online tool that can help you figure out these requirements. We only kind of scratch the surface on some of CPSC's requirements, you might have lots of questions about what requirements apply to your product. That's place to get started if you're not sure business dot CPSC dot gov the regulatory robot. There's also a multi-lingual tool available in lots of different languages that will give you a customized and report with the likely applicable requirements in place for your product. It's a downloadable report as PDF and also the link is unique the URL is unique it can be shared and saved as the end report for a specific product category and the good, the good, the benefit of the saving the URL is that that information is saved. So at this time you click it maybe you're working on children's folding chairs and stools, which that standard just updated. Maybe you ran that report six months ago. And you have that link saved. If you clicked it today you would actually see the updated information from that link. We've since updated that to the 21 version of the standard. The URL will update for you as we make updates in the system as regulatory requirements are updated. It's also helpful to share it with your suppliers it's informed languages is in traditional and simplified Chinese and share this report with your suppliers they can toggle between English and Chinese or other languages. The better educated your suppliers are the better job they're going to do ensuring compliance with us requirements. There's a lot of helpful information on the business education section of our website, as well as the testing and certification section of our website. There's a clickable link here that'll bring you there. And this is our YouTube channel, where we store our videos, we have a library of webinars available on various topics at this point to youtube.com forward slash us CPSC. You can see some of these videos this video will end up on there as well. And now I'm going to turn it over to my colleague Maggie, who is going to be giving an importing overview for you all. Hey Maggie. Good afternoon. My name is Maggie Sarek. I'm an compliance investigator with the import surveillance division, which means that I'm one of the people who examines the incoming cargo at the ports. So I am just checking to make sure I have control of the keyboard. I do. Okay, thank you. So, I'm just going to talk to you real quickly about an importing overview and how we operate at the ports. You know, I think that myself and my colleagues at the ports are the ones that talk to you on a regular basis whenever there are cargo exams or if you have other questions. So I'm going to just give you a brief overview of how we work at the ports, what we do, how it affects you. There's going to be some information about how you can help us help you get things through quickly or come to compliance. So the first couple of slides, given our audience are going to be, you know, information that you already know so I'll kind of swing through those, but it's just a basis of the import process. So as everyone knows, cargo is loaded onto a container ship in the foreign ports of leading manifests are filed at that point entry is not filed. Then as the ship is traveling to the US and entering a port of leading the entry information is filed either before arrival or after arrival. And that's filed by customs house brokers with customs and border protection. Now CPSC and customs and border protection along with other government agencies all share information through several different systems, most notably ace that I believe most of you should be familiar with. And then that information is reviewed by CVP CPSC and the other government agencies. So we take into account the manifest information, the information on the entries, if there are any other documents that are required in the system so everything is electronic at that point. And we are all reviewing to decide whether or not an entry or shipment requires further examination. So if we decide that something requires further examination, then a hold is placed in the system. And at that point you're notified that an intensive exam or a full exam is required. So if that's the case, then that cargo has to go to a CES a cargo examination site, which is generally man it's a private company but it has a contract with customs and border protection under bond, where we conduct examinations of the cargo. If we do not decide to take any further action, and the containers released then it goes right to the importer or whoever the distributor is in the US. So, in our opinion, you know we've seen so many different types of supply chain, you know from ordering to arrival to distribution. So over the years, we have come to know that are the optimal supply chain that we would see in order to ensure compliance with our regulations would be that the buyer has direct contact with the manufacturer, that the buyer specifies to the manufacturer what materials they design the process the labeling, and making sure that they adhere to all of CPSC's regulation, and that the buyer obtains and approves reviews and then approves a passing third party lab test from an accredited CPSC lab prior to the manufacturer order, or at least before it's loaded into a container and sent to the US. Hopefully the manufacturer would complete the order exactly as requested using all of those materials and processes. And then a freight forwarder, you typically would arrange for the transport of that cargo. Customs house broker, and this is kind of an important point to for everybody on on the line, a customs house broker should be hired directly by the importer. Customs house brokers are required to have direct contact with importers to file the documents with CPSC, CBP and other agencies. That broker would file the entry, they would liaise with customs and the CES's and CPSC for whatever examinations are required if that's so. Customs house broker would have the importer of records contact information readily available for CPSC. I'm going to stress this a number of times throughout this presentation. Please have the importers contact information, accurate information, a name, title, a phone number and email address because for CPSC, there's a little bit of a difference from CBP and CPSC. And for CPSC we really need to get in contact with the importer of record, not just with the broker. So in that case, hopefully the clearance of the cargo would be achieved, and then you arrange for the transport or release of the cargo. So the flip side of that is the undesirable supply chain. And when we have violations when we examine cargo and we see a lot of violations. This is typically how the supply chain has gone. The buyer orders the merchandise without direct contact with the manufacturers. They typically buy small quantities from multiple sources, either via trade shows or online. They don't have any control over the manufacturer process or the materials. Typically they just, even if they do ask for a test report, they just accept kind of any test report that's provided without checking or with doing minimal due diligence regarding the test reports for those products. And then in this undesirable supply chain, the freight forwarder is actually the main player. The freight forwarder is contracting with numerous individual manufacturers or sellers to fill a container. They arrange for the transport, they book passage, and then the freight forwarder hires the customs broker to file CBP documents on behalf of the customer. In that case, the customs house broker is not in direct contact with the importer. They do not have the contact information for the importer of record when we need it, and that adds time that adds delay to any of the exams when we have to go through multiple sources to find the importer's contact information. So, CPSC at the port, how are CPSC exams targeted? I get this question quite a bit. So we have three main methods of targeting. The first is a national platform where we have a presence at the CTAC, which is the Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center in D.C. It has a number of federal agencies alongside with Customs and Border Protection, and they're doing targeting for shipments nationally. So that's one way. The other way is a local targeting system that we use. It's our risk assessment methodology, our RAM system. So people like me and my colleagues would sit and sift through lines of data about all incoming shipments. We would do research. We typically, you know, we might even Google a company and look at their website. We'll look at your website and we'll see if the product is on your website, something like that. But we use a number of different methods to decide whether or not something is genuinely worth targeting because we truly believe that there is some type of hazard to the community. So that's our local targeting. And then the other way is local Customs and Border Protection. You know, we've been co-located with Customs for a number of years now, and we work together very closely with them. So they're aware of the types of shipments and products that are of interest to CPSC. So either their Customs target something thinking, oh, that might be of interest to consumer product safety. Or the officers at the CES warehouses might be examining a shipment for something completely different that was not targeted for CPSC, but they come across a product that they know we'd be interested in and they refer it to us at that point. And we're usually at the warehouses right next to them. So it's a seamless thing. It's not, there's no real delay when they're referring. And so then once something is targeted and made available for examination, how are CPSC products screened? Well, in this case, we have to be a jack of all trades because there are so many, as you know, there are so many regulations and so many different types of products, you know, 15,000 products under CPSC jurisdiction that we really need to, instead of knowing a lot about a little, we need to know a little about a lot. So, and the other thing is, and this is something that I think is a misconception, we honestly typically do not know what we are coming to examine when we get to a warehouse. We don't know that your container that was targeted is going to be at this CES at this time. We don't have a list of containers that are coming in and the number and when they're going to be available. Typically we get to a warehouse, CBP has a list of containers that are available on the floor unloaded and ready for examination, and they let us know which ones were flagged for CPSC and then we go out and we typically do not even know at that point what we're looking at. You know, we'll do a little bit of research beforehand, but then we start opening boxes and we're opening boxes, we're taking each product out and we are determining which tests apply to those products according to all of these regulations on this page. And some of the tools that we use, we carry a lot of equipment. And we have a lot of scientific equipment that each of us carry around with us. We have an XRF, which tests for lead. It looks like a little ray gun from Star Trek or something. Then the easier smaller one is that second picture. It's a little small part cylinder that mimics a child's esophagus to see if there's a choking hazard for something for a child under three. We have all different templates. If the environment that we're in at the warehouse doesn't allow us to screen on the warehouse floor, we'll take maybe one or two units of that product back to our office and test it in the offices. Another thing to mention is that, and this is something that can really help speed up the process. If we're on the fence about whether or not a product is potentially hazardous or not, we'll call you or we'll email you or we'll try to get in touch with you somehow. And we might ask you for documents right then. And as Will stated before, if we're requesting a CPSC and test reports, that has to be sent back to us within 24 hours. That 24 hours is crucial because our decision on whether or not to detain something very often depends on whether or not you send those records in and we'll review the test records and that will help us make a determination about what to do with the product. So we also might reach out to our headquarters if we're not sure about something. If we think a product will depend on an age grade, we'll send a photo of the product to our headquarters and say, what do you think about this age? We might send something to a compliance officer and ask for their opinion. So we're doing a lot of research as we're screening to determine whether or not we're going to release or detain or conditionally release. So if something does fail screening, and we've gone through all of our questions and we've reached out and we decide, nope, this product from this shipment definitely needs to be evaluated by CPSC. We'll collect samples. We collect a different number of samples depending on what type of violation we suspect. So if it's a children's product that we believe has an excessive amount of lead, we'll take nine units of that item from the shipment. We'll issue a receipt to Customs and Border Protection, a sample receipt saying we took these nine samples out of this particular shipment, and we'll also send that to the importer of record and or broker. Then we'll decide whether something has to be detained or if it can be conditionally released. If we're detaining it, we'll send a Form 352 to the importer of record to Customs and Border Protection and possibly to the broker. If we conditionally release something and I'll talk more about that, then we'll send that same form. So they're typically, like I said, they're typically sent to CVP, the broker and the importer of record. And again, I'm going to stress this is why we need accurate contact information for the importer. So the difference between detention and conditional release is probably pretty obvious, but detention means that the entirety of the product. So the full quantity of the sample that we're detaining, not the entire shipment. If you have 10 different items in a shipment and we're only interested in one and we're only sampling one item, then CPSC is only detaining that one item. And the rest of that shipment, the other nine products are not on hold for CPSC. And I can talk more about that. It varies from port to port and even within the port from warehouse to warehouse. Sometimes it depends on how the release of those nine other products will go. And you'd usually have to talk to Customs and Border Protection because CPSC is only detaining that one item. So when a product is detained, it has to remain held at the CES under Customs Bond. Our detention authority is 60 days. We'll send you an email and we'll say, this is going for testing. This is why we sampled it and our detention process could take up to 60 days. On the other hand, if we conditionally release something, and that typically happens if the product only fails for more of like an administrative violation or you don't have tracking labels or certificate or something like that. We'll conditionally release it instead of detaining it so you're not getting the warehouse storage fees. However, you do have to maintain that product in its entirety pending the completion of our testing process. And that's also 60 days. And I also just wanted to make a quick note. We understand very well that if something is detained, it's costing the customer money in storage fees. It's costing the warehouses space on the floor. It's costing lots of lots of business. So we do not detain indiscriminately. We understand that it is a burden. And we try to make that process go quickly and we try not to detain if we truly don't believe that it's something that really requires a detention. So here's my audience poll question number four. How long is CPSC is detention authority. Is it 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, or does CPSC use Customs and Border Protection's detention authority in that case. So Sarah will launch the poll. We have multiple choice this time, not just yes or no. And we'll give it another second to see how everyone does. Okay, so 80% said 60 days. The next highest answer was that we use CBPs detention authority. And let's see what the correct answer actually was. So the correct answer is 60 days. So the majority of you got it correct. And those of you who said CPSC uses CBPs detention authority, you must have been around a long time ago, because we did use to use their detention authority. But that changed quite a number of years ago where we were granted our own detention authority. So you will not receive a CBP detention notice in most cases, you'll only receive a CPSC detention notice. So even though it's commonly known also that CBPs detention authority is 30 days, our detention authority is 60 days and that's confusing frequently to a lot of people. So take that back. All right, so once we collect samples, what happens to them, where do they go and what takes so long is usually the question I get. So where do samples go. I think I mentioned if we collect a children's product because we suspect that it has an excessive amount of lead, we'll send it to a number of different offices and this is true for almost all samples. We send it to the office of compliance. That's our headquarters. Office of compliance is the office responsible for making the final determination once products are sampled and either detained or conditionally released. Then if it is applicable will send it to human factors for an age determination and that typically applies if we need to know if something is for a child under three or not, or if it is a general use product versus a children's product. Sometimes for art materials I know that was mentioned in Will's part of the presentation. There are different requirements for children's art materials so sometimes we need that. We send a number of units to the laboratory. So we'll send it to our chemical lab or a mechanical lab or our mattress, the part of the lab that tests mattresses for flammability. And we always send one unit to our sample storage facility to be retained if it's needed at a later date. And also an important part, the samples that we take, the number if I take nine units from the shipment, those nine units are not returned to the shipment they're typically destroyed during testing, or they are, you know, destroyed in other means, and then they're also stored at the sample storage facility but they do not go back to your shipment, even if they pass. So the evaluation process, once all of these tests are being done and evaluating. Then the CPSC compliance officers at our headquarters office I told you they're responsible for making the determination. So they receive the reports from the lab or human factors or other offices. They compile all of the information, and then they review the product and paperwork and whatever else is required. And they say if the product is violative, then they contact the importer of record and again, you know, hitting this on the head. This is why it is so important to provide us with not only the importer of record but a US based importer of records contact information. We need to be able to get in touch with the responsible party in the US to discuss the results and the next steps. And that is a huge delay in the process. Typically, the detention process stops when the compliance officer is trying to reach out to the importer of record and either can't reach them or doesn't get a response, that type of thing. So the next steps are, if something is violative it is either seized. It is conditionally released sometimes for reconditioning and I'll get into that, or they release it with a correct future production notice and I'll kind of get into that but that's basically like saying that the violation occurred, but it was minimal and you haven't had any other violations in the past so will allow it this time, but you need to make sure that you correct future production. And just as I kind of mentioned the importer of records compliance history might be taken into consideration. If, like I said if you're a new importer and you really tried to understand that you made a small mistake. That's one thing but if you're a multiple violator who's been counseled a number of times on the violations and you continue to violate, then the repercussions would be more severe. Then the documents are issued by the compliance officer. So they'll issue a form 330 which is a request for action, and that only goes to CBP that's basically just saying we would like you to either seize this or release this. And then the importer of record gets the notice of violation and that is a document that includes exactly what happened who was contacted it provides education for the violation and then whatever you the importer and the compliance officer agreed to is in that notice as well. So what happens if a seizure determination is made. If a determination is made that the goods have to be seized. We issue a form 330 to customs requiring the seizure of goods. And then at that point and this is a very important point. Once we issue the 330 to customs requesting a seizure CPSC is no longer involved. That is our stopping point. We are not involved once that form is sent to CBP and requesting seizure, because then CBP takes the authority and begins the official seizure process. So after that point, it's out of our hands. We don't have any more information. We have no control over what happens in the seizure process. And then so if you have questions about your merchandise after this point. If you're wondering where it is or about fees or about what happens after a seizure, then you should contact your local CBP office and I'm sure any brokers or freight voters would know how to do so. So if it's reconditioned so let's say we have a product that's violative, but it's something that the compliance officer has determined can be reconditioned maybe you need to just remove one part of the product that failed lead testing or small parts testing. Then the importer of record has to recondition the product in within the specified period of time. You have to provide proof that the process is complete. And you have to submit an updated third party test report and certificate so once you recondition you have to send it back in for third party testing if it's a children's product. Then you provide pictures or videos I should say of the recondition product or the part or and or the part of the destroyed violative component. So if you have a backpack and it has a little clip on it that has a fidget and that fidget failed for lead, then you show that you removed the fidget from all of the backpacks in that lot and destroyed them. And then you also have to submit assigned affidavit that they are now compliant with all the applicable standards. At that point we issue of 330 to CBP telling them that the reconditioning process is complete and the product is now in now in compliance with CPSC regulations and the product can be distributed into the commerce. Now, if you do not recondition or you do not recondition to the standards CPSC might require that the product either be destroyed by your IOR or redelivered to CBP and at that point seized. I'm just going to move on to some statistics and I like this chart because it kind of illustrates what I was talking about before when I was talking about we really understand about detaining and what a burden it is and we work very hard not to detain products. If we don't truly believe that there is a significant violation. So in fiscal year 20 we CPSC at the ports screened over 5000 entries. We collected over 1000 samples out of those 1000 samples 89.7% were found to be violative. So I wrote down at the bottom the point of this table is to illustrate that the CPSC investigators and inspectors at the point ports only sample products that have a relatively high likelihood of being found violative. And if all the samples taken from the ports approximately 90% are officially found to be violative. So I I again I just wanted to reiterate that we don't take samples and detain products unless we truly believe that there's a violation. So moving on to violations, the fiscal year 20 stats show lead as the big leader, excessive lead in children's products and mechanical failures in children's products so choking hazards pinching hazards things like that. And that was actually a little surprising to me. And also on this chart I just want to mention entries typically have more than one violation so you'll see certificate and tracking label violations almost on all of the other primary violations. And this was shocking to me because we provide an extensive amount of outreach and education to the trade community. For example, once an importer is found to be violative, we conduct something called an informed compliance, invest or investigation, or inspection. And what that is is we go out and we provide you with education we ask you about your process we tell you how to improve your process we discuss what your products might be what regulations might be applicable and we discussed how to make sure that they're in compliance. We do a great deal of outreach when it comes to speaking or talking at broker quarterly meetings or these kinds of things. So I was surprised. And I also want to mention that you guys on this call, the trade community can greatly help reduce these hazards, you know, we don't want lead and choking hazards out there. In our in our stores, we don't want our children being at risk of choking or, you know, extensive lead or phthalates anything like that. So the trade community can help you guys can ensure that your manufacturers adhere to all the US CPSC safety regulations. You can make it a requirement you can make sure that the testing is completed and make sure that the testing is good and accurate for that product, which brings us to my testing slides. And I know we'll already talked a lot about third party testing. But this is probably after 11 years of doing this job. This is the biggest part that can ensure compliance, or the biggest reason that compliance is not met when it comes to violative products. So I usually put a little tip of when I when I talk to importers or brokers I usually have a few tips of what to do with your test reports if you receive them. So number one is make sure that the test report is less than one year old you know that already make sure that it's accredited by CPSC the lab will gave the link to the CPSC lab search. So once you find your lab, take it a step further click on the lab and see which tests that laboratory is accredited for they might be approved for lead testing but not for phthalate testing. And this was touched on again make sure the product that you tested is the actual product that you order a lot of times I can't tell you how many times we see test reports for an item and it's it's similar to the item that you ordered, but it's not the exact item, or the item that failed for testing like the fidget on the backpack. Maybe the backpack was tested, but not the fidget toy that's attached. So make sure all parts are tested make sure all are represented on the test report. And then, not just that but make sure every component of the product is tested for the applicable standards. I gave the example of a plastic duck you know the little rubber yellow rubber duckies. Maybe it passes for lead but when we screen it for phthalates it doesn't pass for phthalates it fails phthalate testing. So then we look at the test report and we see okay it was tested it was within a year this and that and the other thing, but it was only tested for lead it wasn't tested for phthalates. So you need to educate yourself and make yourselves aware of what standards what CPSC health and safety standards are applicable to your product and then make sure that those are being tested as well. And then another biggie is if we have mechanical hazards for a child under three sometimes there will be a test report. It passes for lead phthalates all of those kinds of things, but it wasn't tested for any of the additional requirements that are needed. If you're importing a toy that's intended for use by a child under three, there are a whole host of other required testing. So a lot of times we'll see a test report and it says applicants specified age three plus. The product is actually you know intended for someone one or two. So if the applicant if the let's say the manufacturer submits it to the lab, and they're telling the lab that it's for someone over three the lab does not conduct all of the other under three testing. Even though when we see it at import, we say no this is definitely for a child under three it should have been graded you know age graded for that. So that's just little tips that we have for third party testing. Before we get on to the super exciting topic of two way messaging. And I am a, I really am not clear on who is on the broadcast, but I know brokers at least should be aware of two way messaging already. And two way messaging is basically just a system of communication between CPSC, it goes through a CBP, and then it can go to the trade, and it's via ace. The ace system and I believe on the broker side I believe it's you guys use a bi, but if that's out of date, then I'm sorry, but it is definitely through ace. And what it is is it's basically just a messaging system. So, once entries are filed in our system. It's automatically assigned certain status notes. First you'll receive something that says under review. We have gotten so many calls and emails lately because people say, Oh my gosh this is under review what do I do do I send you documents that under review under review just means that for a specified amount of time CPSC is reviewing the electronic information available. That's all it means. If no examination is required, or if that under review timeframe expired and we didn't make any changes in the system. CBP and the filer will receive a message that says may proceed that means there's nothing standing in the way on CPSC's and, and the cargo is going to be released. If an examination or some type of further review is required CBP and the filer will receive a different message now right now. It says something like hold intact notice or intensive exam required I believe it's different for different systems, and then CPSC will send CBP request for an intensive exam hold. Now what are the benefits of this new system. Really it's just so that everyone is on the same page. There's real time communication, there are automated requests. So we don't have to rely on emailing or making phone calls, which tends to be timely and sometimes we can't find an email or a phone number for certain parties. So this is helpful to facilitate the flow of, of, you know, good compliant products. So this says when will to met two way messaging occur it did occur March 23rd already. And I wanted to make a note about this because the two way messaging system is it's a fluid system it's updating we have updates in the process. There is going to be a new update released fairly soon. So you're going to want to pay attention to that because you'll be seeing a lot of different messages coming out. And if you're interested, there's going to be a broker quarterly meeting for the port of Newark, New York, this coming Wednesday. So that's a CBP broker quarterly meeting in Newark it's going to be a webcast, and we'll be presenting a lot more information if you need to know how to get on to the webcast you can go ahead and email me, which you'll find at the end of this presentation. And then one more note, and this is a special note to the brokers about ace. Very, very frequently, when it comes to being notified that documents are required, or if you see a hold request, and then you want to upload your entry documents into the dis portion of ace. You need to know that CPSC cannot see the entry or any documents, unless you specifically put an indicator code in that marks it for CPSC review. And I've been told that code is either CPS or CPS one. And unfortunately, since the brokers use different systems I'm not sure if it's a bi systems or how your ace representative set it up. We're unable to provide you specific instructions about exactly where to put that indicator code, but you need to know that we cannot view those documents and dis unless you put that code in. So if you need to understand how to do that please reach out to your ace or your ABI rep to figure out where to put it but the code is CPS or CPS one. All right, which brings us to our last poll about two way messaging. Does the initial under review message received via two way messaging mean that your shipment requires an examination. Yes, or no. So that's the first message that comes up when an entry is filed from our system. Does under review mean that your shipment requires an examination. Okay, I think everyone's going to get this correct. All right 97% of you got correct gold star. Let's go to the next slide. So the correct answer is no under review does not mean. Hold on. Sorry. Under review does not mean that your shipment requires an examination it only means that we're you're reviewing the information available at that time to decide whether or not further action is required. You will see a may proceed message if nothing is required. But if action is required you will be notified with one of several different messages and we'll talk more about that on the Wednesday brook or quarterly meeting if you're there. Sarah do I have control but there we go. Okay, so that is the end of my section. I'm going to turn it back over to will thank you guys very much. And yes thank you Maggie for a great presentation thank you everyone for joining. We are a little over time so we'll just do a couple of questions here. Before we do that, I want to point out that we have a lot of contact info here. And I hope Maggie is okay with me being bold but I think in general the best place to start with questions is our office a small business ombudsman team at SBO at CPSC. And if it's not something we can answer, we can interface with other offices within CPSC and help get the answer for you, we can facilitate those answers. I think in a lot of scenarios, we are probably your best first point of contact, unless it's maybe a very specific question for a specific investigator in a specific situation right obviously you'd want to go to that specific investigator. In a lot of situations, but otherwise general questions were your great first point of contact here. Okay, a couple of questions for Maggie and then we'll close it out. First question from Maggie here from someone in the audience. What are the typical warehouse storage fees and what's that range during detention is there a typical storage fee range for detention. So thank you so much for that question I it's a very common question unfortunately it is not a question that I can answer. These are private warehouses so CBP and CPSC have no involvement with the fees or the costs. They just have they've won contracts to be a provider. What I would do is contact each warehouse and ask for those ask those questions what is first of all what's an examination fee, and then if it's detained what's a daily storage fee. I'm sorry I can't answer that they're all different. Thanks Maggie I wanted to highlight that question for exactly the answer that you gave it's a question that I get frequently as well. How much are the storage fees. CPSC has no fee authority, no fee authority so definitely for the CPSC sake that is outside of our purview. Okay last question here from someone with sounds like they were having an examination CPSC finished examining my shipment and told me that it was released, but there is no release in the system. Can CPSC release it. So what happens is when CPSC conducts an examination and we say that there were no items of interest or violations for CPSC. We notify customs and border protection immediately after the examination, and then if there are no other holds, then customs and border protection would release it so if there's no release in the system. It's one of a couple issues. It's either that there is another government agency involved with the shipment that needs to also do an examination, or holding it for another reason so in that case you'd have to reach out to your local CBP office the problem resolution desk and ask for additional information but I can say that as soon as we do an exam and we determine that it can be released. We tell them that there is no CPSC hold. So the rest is on customs and border protection. Thank you for that answer Maggie and again one more time. Thank you to everyone for joining the webinar. We will be following up by email to everyone who registered I know some people couldn't attend with a recording of the presentation, along with those slides again. Thank you for coming out to any of your employees or other contacts you think would find them useful. Again, thank you very much, and we'll be in touch.