CPSC and the U.S. Customs Service stopped over 20 million hazardous fireworks and half a million substandard or defective toys from entering the U.S during 1994. This effort was the direct result of a cooperative surveillance program between CPSC and Customs that is designed to protect children from unsafe products from abroad while eliminating duplication of government programs. Far from a traditional regulatory "gotcha" effort, the program has demonstrated how industry cooperation and teamwork can augment an effective compliance program that pays real and measurable dividends for both consumers and industry.

The program, which was instituted by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Commission and Customs in 1987, was updated in 1990 and expanded in 1995. It had several immediate results: (1) substantial injury prevention; (2) greater compliance by manufacturers and importers with safety regulations; and (3) a more level playing field for foreign and domestic manufacturers.

The program is a model of efficient inter-agency cooperation. CPSC and Customs investigators screen incoming shipments of consumer products and select suspect products for testing in CPSC laboratories. Products that do not comply with applicable CPSC regulations are seized or detained by Customs. As needed, the Commission staff supervises the reconditioning of goods that violate safety standards and monitors the recall of previously distributed lots. The program has changed the way industry operates. The fireworks industry has developed a safety certificate program, and the toy industry has taken greater efforts to more fully inform its members of CPSC's requirements and to meet those requirements. Many individual firms have developed or improved their internal testing and quality control programs.

Two examples of the program's effectiveness at the docks are shown with art materials and lighters. CPSC and Customs prevented over 1.9 million improperly labeled art material products from entering the U.S. These products did not meet the requirements of the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act alerting consumers to hazardous chemicals in the art materials. CPSC and Customs also cooperated closely in the initial enforcement of CPSC's July 13, 1994 safety standard requiring disposable and novelty lighters to be child-resistant. This program prevented unscrupulous foreign firms from dumping potentially unsafe products on our market before safety regulations took effect. During May and June 1994, CPSC field staff inspected firms suspected of "stockpiling" non-child resistant lighters. After uncovering this stockpiling, CPSC and Customs took prompt action to prevent noncomplying lighters from entering the U.S. This effort kept over 18 million illegally stockpiled non child-resistant lighters off the market.

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