“Europe Requires China-based Product Makers to Have EU Contact for Safety”

A charger that explodes, toys with a choking hazard, pathogenic substances; those who order cheap products from China do not always receive the best quality. Something needs to be done about this, believes Europe. Following on from this, Minister Micky Adriaansens is now coming up with a plan of action.

Protecting people

From now on, makers of overseas items must also have a branch or point of contact in the EU, otherwise they will not be allowed to sell anything in the Netherlands. According to the minister, the intervention is necessary to protect people who have bought items that subsequently turn out not to work or are unsafe. “It is super important that we have safe products in the Netherlands,” the minister told RTL Nieuws.

Consumers may therefore pay more for their products. “That is the price for safety,” says Adriaansens. The rules will come into effect from next year.

The Consumers’ Association does not believe that these measures are the golden egg. “It is a step in the right direction, because a lot of junk is entering Europe from China,” spokesperson Joyce Donat told RTL Z. “Everything depends on control and enforcement.” And that’s just the problem. It is impossible for Customs to check every incoming package for safety.

Rep here?

The Consumers’ Association does not see it as a solution either that companies that want to sell their products in Europe must also have a branch here. “Companies must indeed comply with the rules, but the question then is whether they do so.”

And a representative here in Europe, as Adriaansens suggests? “What does that mean then?” Donat wonders. “Previous research by the Consumers’ Association shows that companies then only had a Gmail account.”

Then there is the issue of dropshipping: these are independent one-man businesses (in Europe) with a simple website. You actually order stuff from China directly via that European site. Donat wants to know what happens to it. “You can check afterwards whether a product is safe, but at the front – before it is even sold – you actually have to check there.”