Acting Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Nancy Nord announced at a Jan. 7 press conference that the CPSC will begin an initiative to work more closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection through the CPSC’s newly-formed import surveillance division. According to news reports, the CPSC will work with CBP to stop and inspect shipments using a new cargo tracking system that will enable it to identify recalled products and other high-risk goods at U.S. ports. While the CPSC has a history of working with CBP, Nord said it will be the first time that agency personnel are permanently assigned to U.S. ports full-time. She added that the new program will begin at major West Coast ports such as Seattle, Long Beach and Oakland, Calif. The CPSC will be aided in this initiative by a funding bill recently signed by President Bush that increases its fiscal year 2008 budget by 30 percent to $80 million.
World Trade/Interactive
