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CPSC Intensifies E-Commerce Safety Efforts Amid Legal Challenges

E commerce

Business Honor
24 March, 2025

CPSC strengthens enforcement on online marketplace recalls and unsafe Chinese imports, facing legal hurdles.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is stepping up its enforcement of eCommerce-related safety issues, focusing on online marketplaces' liabilities for third-party sellers and monitoring direct-to-consumer imports directly from China. CPSC Acting Chairman Peter Feldman made this announcement at the National Retail Federation's NRF Retail Law Summit in early March, where more than 1,200 industry experts gathered.

One of the CPSC's main areas of interest is to make sure that online stores such as Amazon, which have previously been held accountable for recalls, become more responsible when it comes to product safety. However, Feldman conceded that the agency has encountered setbacks in dealing with online marketplaces, citing "limited success" in getting the platforms to comply wholly with recall regulations. Amazon subsequently sued the CPSC, asserting that the agency's behavior exceeds legal limits, specifically regarding allegations of constitutional overreach and statutory inadequacies.

A related problem is how to get Chinese manufacturers to take responsibility for harmful products being sold on U.S. eCommerce sites. Feldman explained that Chinese manufacturers tend to be hard to locate for the purpose of recalling products, making it harder for the agency to protect consumers. This is made worse by the law value exception, where American consumers are allowed to buy goods from China worth less than $800 without incurring tariffs. Feldman verified that the administration is set to restart the imposition of tariffs on such goods when systems are available to process it efficiently.

The CPSC is also enforcing the 2023 INFORM Act, which requires online marketplaces to authenticate information about sellers. Enforcement is still challenging, however, especially when dealing with foreign sellers, making U.S. ports a frontline defense in keeping dangerous products from entering the marketplace.