New EU Legislation on General Product Safety

On 25th April, 2023, the Council of Europe adopted the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). The regulation will be published shortly and will extend the safety requirements to all products. The legislation is expected to have a particularly significant impact on online marketplaces, which will, in future, have a legal obligation to act if they detect a dangerous product on their platform.

British companies will have to name a responsible person or firm based in the EU, who will be accountable. Until now, similar requirements only applied to specific products, such as medical products and products carrying the CE mark. Even before the new legislation comes into effect, some EU retailers are known to be demanding that information about a responsible person be included on the product and/or packaging.

The regulation will come into force on the 20th day after its publication, but member states will have 18 months to enforce it.

Exporters to the EU of goods not currently covered by specific safety legislation, as well as those selling through online platforms, should act to comply with the new requirements.

The full script of the regulation can be found here.

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