WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — The Consumer Product Safety Commission said last week that importers of regulated consumer products like e-bikes and other e-mobility devices must submit compliance certificates electronically before their products enter the U.S.
The eFiling program helps the CPSC identify and target what it considers "high-risk imported products" more efficiently while reducing inspections and delays for compliant importers.
"By allowing the agency to focus enforcement resources where they are most needed, eFiling helps keep unsafe products out of the U.S. marketplace while facilitating legitimate trade," the CPSC said in making the announcement.
CPSC said the program also fosters closer coordination between CPSC and Customs and Border Protection. The program does not apply to domestic manufacturers in the U.S. nor does it create new testing, certification, or compliance obligations. Importers already are required to create and maintain compliance certificates. The eFiling program modernizes how the data is circulated to the CPSC.
"We have known about this deadline for some time," said Steve Hansen, an attorney who represents product manufacturers, distributors and retailers in product liability and other lawsuits. He wrote about the CPSC taking action on certificates of compliance for BRAIN in 2024.
"The real question is how they are going to implement this. I was told they backed off of the position that 16 CFR 1512 sets up a standard for all the 'components' mentioned in that standard. It's a complete bike standard, not a component standard. Let's see what they do. I was told they backed off from their initial overreach on that, but I never got written clarity from CPSC on it."
The 16 CFR 1512 is the mandatory U.S. safety standard for bicycles and e-bikes under 750 watts. Hansen noted the 16 CFR 1512 standard has nothing to do with lithium-ion batteries, only mechanical standards.
"Also depending on the customs/tariff tricks being used to import e-motos, they may escape 1512 altogether, and there is no CPSC battery standard yet. This importation rule only affects CPSC standards, not UL standards."
Nearly two weeks ago, the CPSC listed in the Federal Register its proposal to require e-bikes and other e-mobility devices to meet modified UL testing standards. It's open for public comment until Aug. 24.
"America faces an unprecedented surge in imported consumer products entering through increasingly complex global supply chains, including millions of direct-to-consumer shipments that often bypass traditional retail distribution," said CPSC Acting Chairman Peter A. Feldman. "CPSC faces significant enforcement challenges, particularly where products originate from countries that do not comply with U.S. safety laws. eFiling brings CPSC's import surveillance and targeting capabilities into the 21st century, enabling the agency to identify and interdict high-risk shipments earlier, keeping unsafe foreign-made products out of American homes, and leveling the playing field for American manufacturers and importers that follow the rules."
Requirements applicable to consumer products imported into Foreign Trade Zones and later entered for consumption or warehousing will take effect on Jan. 8, 2027.
