The United States is now the largest export market for Vietnam's garments and textiles but Vietnamese exporters are posed to a lot of challenges accruing from a strict monitoring system from distribution process to product quality. To provide information for staying away from disadvantageous positions of Vietnamese garments and textiles on this demanding, competitive but potential market, an international conference on product safety and restricted substances in apparel and footwear industries was held on November 10, 2010, drawing the participation of more than 90 companies all over the world. This important conference was initiated by the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and supported by the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).
The conference provided information about product safety standards, regulations and compliance instructions in the United States and Europe for Vietnamese apparel and footwear companies. The organising board outlined major provisions on product safety in the Europe, the United States and Vietnam that manufacturers must follow; information about certification for customs tax payment and retailing; information, usage and instructions of Restricted Substances List (RSL); and information about lead content, chemical and label, etc. With many practical programmes and discussions, the conference became a golden opportunity for Vietnamese suppliers to share practical experience.
According to statistics, in 2009, the United States spent more than US$10 billion to import garments, textiles, leather and footwear from Vietnam. The world’s largest economy is the biggest exporting market for Vietnamese apparel industry but it has strictest regulations on product safety, distribution system, product examination, and consumer protection.
Addressing at the conference, Stephen Lamar, Executive Vice President of AAFA, said the United States legal system is very complex and this is a barrier to Vietnam’s exported apparels. Compliance to strict and stringent regulations will pose lots of challenges to exporters, especially when their production and business activities are attached to consumer protection. Additionally, each American state has its own regulations on product safety and restricted substances. If manufacturers understand and fully comply with laws in 19 out of 50 American states, they can sell their products in the entire federation.
Nancy A. Nord, Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), said: The United States is, and will, applying new very strict rules on apparel safety, particularly children’s goods. Accordingly, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act 2008 provides relatively strict regulations, with some already in effect and some to be effective next year. According to CPSIA regulations, lead content in products is limited at almost zero level and phthalates are prohibited. Vietnam’s exported apparels and footwear to the United States will be destroyed, exporters are fined US$15 million each case of violation and even arrested for a serious case if they infringe upon CPSIA regulations. She recommended Vietnamese manufacturers thoroughly understand regulations on lead content in paint and flammable substances in children’s goods. Besides, Vietnamese companies need to make changes in input material stage, technology and cooperation with third parties to ensure the compliance on imports in the United States. Specially, according to new regulations on imports, each label appeared on the US market must satisfy international regulations on materials and production processes. This requires factories in Vietnam to pass assessments of competent agencies to be certified.
Also according to Ms Nancy A. Nord, after a string of recalls of unsafe Chinese products for children, the consumer protection law, CPSC 2008, was passed with new powers which affect any business and production of consumer goods-related enterprises. The law requires certification and testing for all the products imported by the US and CPSC-accredited third party testing for children’s products. Currently, no labs in Vietnam have been accredited by CPSC for this work. From November 11, labs in Vietnam have 90 days to apply for accreditation by CPSC. State labs are required to prove their independence from the Government to avoid potential intervention if applying for the recognition. She underlined that if state labs fail to prove their independence from the Government, they will not be certified by CPSC. Although the certification is not compulsory to foreign producers, US importers, in practice, still require foreign producers to test their products and use the testing results for certification. From now, they have almost three months left to apply for accreditation of CPSC standards on the flammability of children’s clothes. In case Vietnam is not able to have their labs certified by CPSC, they must have their products tested at CPSC-accredited labs in other nations.
Accordingly, to support Vietnamese enterprises, CPSC has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Vietnam. According to this MOU, the Vietnamese Government and CPSC will support companies to settle obstacles when they implement the AAFA’s Restricted Substances List. And, this conference is another support for Vietnamese enterprises to understand more about new AAFA rules. CPSC will further strengthen activities in Vietnam to put an end to violations of product safety in Vietnamese goods exported to the United States.
Thus, in the upcoming time, Vietnamese enterprises must follow the AAFA provisions to avoid being a target of US product safety authorities. Mr Stephen Lamar said when Vietnamese products are qualified for the AAFA provisions; they will not only easily penetrate into the US market but also easily access many other markets.
My Chau
Vietnamese
