Tools to Track Imports Are Limited

(Aaron Kessler — Herald Tribune.com)

Consumer safety agency can do little about items such as tainted drywall

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is unable to access key shipping information to target suspicious products entering the United States, has no long-term plan for ensuring the safety of those imports and has yet to implement critical provisions of a law passed last year to strengthen its regulatory authority.

Those were the findings of a new report issued by the Government Accountability Office, which acts as the investigative arm of Congress. The report found that the CPSC — the lead agency in the investigation of tainted Chinese drywall — lacks vital tools as well as manpower to effectively stop faulty imports.

The CSPC has limited presence at U.S. ports and has to rely on U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials who are, in turn, under pressure to move shipments quickly, the report says. Read more here.