Commission elects Buerkle as Vice Chairman
January 19, 2017, cpsc.gov
The Commission elected Commissioner Ann Marie Buerkle to the position of Vice Chairman for a 1-year term. The Vice Chairman acts in the absence or disability of the Chairman or in case of a vacancy in the Office of Chairman.
Ann Marie Buerkle set to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission
February 10, 2017, Syracuse.com
The former U.S. Congressman from upstate New York will serve as acting chair of the CPSC, according to an agency spokesman. The Republican will take over from Elliot Kaye, a Democrat appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014. The move placed Buerkle in a favored position to be appointed permanent chair by President Donald Trump.
Consumer Confidential: Former officials deride Trump’s ‘mindless’ 2-for-1 deregulation plan
February 5, 2017, Los Angeles Times (spokesman.com)
A number of former regulators, both Republican and Democrat, spoke out against President Donald Trump’s order to eliminate 2 regulations for every 1 regulation introduced. Christine Todd Whitman, head of the Environmental Protection Agency under former President George Bush, said “it’s going to be hard to find regulations that aren’t important to protecting human health.” Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the CPSC during former President Barack Obama’s term in office, said “That’s not a formula for rulemaking. That is a formula for just pulling things out of the air.”
Weathering the Freeze-The CPSC’s response to the White House’s new regulatory restrictions
February 8, 2017, JDSupra (Stinson, Leonard Street)
The new executive order issued by the White House initiated a freeze of the federal regulatory process. However, regulations that deal with matters of public health and safety may be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget, which can determine whether to issue an exclusion. The CPSC, an independent agency overseen by Congress, has historically been deemed exempt from similar directives of the executive branch and continues to operate ‘as usual.’
South Korea orders smartphone manufacturers to report fire incidents right away
February 4, 2017, itechpost.com
The South Korea Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy was due to declare a new standard controlling the response time of the smartphone manufacturer in case of products issues. The new safety regulations are presented in the wake of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 battery explosion, which orders manufacturers to report incidents automatically. The regulations will be implemented within a year.
Where do those huge federal fines go?
February 4, 2017, NBC News
Federal fines don’t go to the consumers affected by the offending company, and they don’t go to the agency whose violated rules were the source of the penalty. The $15 million Gree Electric Appliances penalty levied by the CPSC went straight into the U.S. Treasury for general use as determined by Congress.
Survey: High Price Device: Race to innovate medical devices fuels more product recalls
February 7, 2017, PRNewswire
An industry survey found that in the second half of 2016, medical device recalls heated up quickly as the year progressed. There were more than 650 medical device recalls in Q3 and Q4 in 2016, a 44% increase over the first half of the year, according to the biannual Industry Spotlight survey announced by Stericycle/Expert Solutions. Software problems were primarily responsible for the spike in activity.
When do consumer boycotts work?
February 7, 2017, New York Times
Social media boycotts succeed when they reflect a movement according to several media observes. But the hourly news cycle can bury it within the next day or week. The democratization of free news means that business practices can be discovered and scrutinized and widely circulated. While boycotts force companies to confront consumer ideals, some companies see real market advantages in this trend.
CARICOM Caribbean Community: Builds consumer protection capacity
February 8, 2017, 4-Traders.com
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) hosts a 3-day workshop in Jamaica on Risk Assessment and Product Safety Training in collaboration with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, EU’s European Development Fund, the Organization of American States, and consumer Safety and Health Network. The workshop aims to increase contact and information exchange among Caribbean Community members.
