Furniture Exports To US Must Comply With Standards, Requirements - US CPSC

By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Bernama) -- Furniture exports destined for the US market must comply with the standards and technical requirements set by US authorities, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said. This is to avoid furniture manufacturers from running into trouble with the US authorities, especially the Customs and Border Protection Department. US CPSC Programme Manager for South East Asia and Training Exchanges (International Programs and Intergovernmental Affairs) Arlene I. Flecha said as Malaysia is ranked fifth exporter of furniture to the US in 2013, it is crucial that Malaysian manufacturers abide by the rules and regulations to enable them to stay competitive. "As we believe the demand would increase, they need to understand that some states in the US have different requirements. So, Malaysian exporters should check relevant websites or contact relevant US authorities for the right information before exporting their products," she told Bernama. She said this after presenting a talk at a seminar on ‘What you need to know about requirements for furniture sold in the US’ here, Friday. According to the US Department of Commerce's statistics, the US imported US$ 351.13 million (RM1.28 billion) worth of furniture from Malaysia in the first six months of 2014 up 8.18 per cent compared with the corresponding period in 2013, which accounted for 1.6 per cent of the market share. According to the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, the US remains Malaysia’s biggest market for furniture, with exports worth US$417.79 million (RM1.523 billion) from the total exports of US$1.61 billion (RM5.9 billion) from January to September 2014. (US$1 = RM3.64) US CPSC Program Manager (Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction) Jacob J. Miller said the US gave the highest priority to children’s products and advised exporters and importers to adhere to the voluntary consensus standards developed by a private non-profit organisation, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), apart from complying with the mandatory safety standards under the US law. He said as there had been many fatalities involving children, mainly 12 years old and below, stringent rules on safety and quality for every children’s products, including furniture, cannot be compromised. "It is wise to adhere to the voluntary consensus standards in the industry among manufacturers, retailers, third-party labs and government bodies because we do not want businesses to cause harm to our consumers," he said. Miller said Malaysia could play its part in efforts to oversee the development of the voluntary consensus standards and promote standards integrity along with ANSI. -- BERNAMA