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Understanding the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)
The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) is a fundamental reform in the European Union’s (EU) product safety legal system. This new regulation, effective from December 13, 2024, replaces the General Product Safety Directive and the Food Imitating Product Directive. The GPSR introduces a modernized approach to ensuring product safety in response to the evolving digital economy and emerging market trends.
This Friday, December 13, 2024, the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) comes into force. For several weeks now, sellers have been asked by major online marketplaces to provide compliance information. Platforms such as Amazon require "GPSR warnings and safety information," while eBay demands "product safety information" and "safety information" for products that may face a risk of refusal if these details are not provided.
Designed to protect consumers from hazardous products, the GPSR imposes stricter obligations on businesses, requiring them to guarantee the safety of all non-food consumer products across all sales channels, including online platforms. This "safety net" approach ensures comprehensive consumer protection, even for products or risks not covered by other EU regulations.
Primary Objectives of the GPSR
1. Comprehensive Product Safety: The GPSR aims to protect consumers by ensuring the safety of all products, especially those incorporating new technologies that may present unique risks.
2. Tackling Online Sales Risks: The growth of online shopping, especially through online marketplaces, has introduced new safety challenges. The GPSR addresses these challenges with specific measures.
3. Stronger Market Oversight: By enhancing enforcement and surveillance mechanisms, the GPSR aims to prevent the entry of unsafe products into the market.
4. Improved Recall Process: The GPSR strengthens the processes for recalling dangerous products that have already reached consumers, providing a more effective mechanism for removing unsafe products from circulation.
Key Changes Introduced by the GPSR
The GPSR introduces several important changes aimed at improving consumer safety and increasing accountability for manufacturers, importers, and distributors. Notable changes include:
• Precautionary Principle: All stakeholders must apply the precautionary principle more broadly, focusing on preventing risks before they occur.
• Obligations for Online Marketplaces: Online marketplaces now have specific safety obligations, including the responsibility to remove dangerous products from their platforms.
• Stricter Traceability Requirements: The GPSR introduces enhanced traceability obligations for businesses to improve tracking of products across the supply chain, enabling rapid recalls when needed.
• Product Safety Assessment: When assessing product safety, businesses must now consider additional factors, especially for products incorporating emerging technologies.
• Accident Reporting: Businesses are required to notify authorities about accidents caused by their products. This information supports improved market surveillance and proactive risk prevention.
• Stronger Market Surveillance: Authorities now have more tools to oversee and enforce compliance with the GPSR, ensuring better control of product safety.
• Enhanced Recall Rules: The GPSR provides specific rules on how product recalls should be conducted. This includes a mandatory recall notice template and ensures that consumers have the right to remedies, such as repair, replacement, or refund.
Development Timeline
The GPSR’s development process spanned several stages of review and consultation to ensure that it meets the current and future needs of the EU’s consumer protection framework. Here is a summary of the key milestones:
• June 23, 2020 – September 1, 2020: Initial roadmap feedback was gathered.
• June 30, 2020 – October 6, 2020: Public consultation was conducted to gather input from stakeholders.
• June 30, 2021: The European Commission published its proposal for a new Product Safety Regulation.
• November 28, 2022: The European Parliament and Council reached a political agreement on the proposal.
• December 21, 2022: The Coreper I committee approved the provisional agreement.
• January 24, 2023: The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) endorsed the GPSR proposal.
• March 30, 2023: The European Parliament formally adopted the text of the GPSR.
• April 25, 2023: The Council officially adopted the General Product Safety Regulation.
• May 23, 2023: The GPSR was published in the Official Journal of the EU, setting its implementation date as December 13, 2024.
Conclusion
The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) represents a major shift in how the EU handles product safety. With stronger traceability, enhanced recall measures, and stricter obligations for online marketplaces, the GPSR aims to provide comprehensive protection for consumers. As the implementation date of December 13, 2024, approaches, businesses must prepare for compliance by updating their safety protocols and ensuring their supply chains are ready to meet the new requirements. The GPSR’s emphasis on transparency, accountability, and precaution offers a robust framework to protect consumers and support a safer EU market.
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