Michael McGrath has promised to raise concerns about product safety – including children’s toys and electronics – during a trip to China this week.
Ireland’s European Commissioner has a responsibility for consumer protection as part of his portfolio.
Since coming into office last year, McGrath has made it one of his priorities.
The European Union imported an estimated 4.6 billion low-value items (items under €150) last year, according to the European Parliament.
As it is difficult to control billions of parcels arriving every year, some of the products ordered via e-commerce channels may fail to comply with EU rules on safety, ecodesign or environment protection, MEPs have warned.
Speaking ahead of his visit, Michael McGrath said:
“One of the main concerns is that certain products that are coming into the EU do not meet the minimum EU safety standards and actually can be quite dangerous.
I’m thinking of, for example, certain electronics, children’s toys, also the chemicals that are in a lot of cosmetics that are imported into the European Union.
And the evidence and the testing that we have done has shown that in certain cases, these can be quite dangerous and harmful to public health within the EU. And that’s just not acceptable.”
The EU has strict rules on product safety, both for the environment and for human health. But there are concerns that unscrupulous operators are not playing by the rules.
“People are unknowingly purchasing products that they believe to be safe, but in truth can pose a real hazard to them”, said McGrath.
“That’s something as an EU commissioner, with responsibility for consumer protection, I have to ensure is addressed.”
The safety of consumer products imported from China into the EU is a key focus of Michael McGrath’s visit to China this week.
According to the Commissioner, about twelve million small parcels are imported into the EU every day with over 90 percent of them coming from China.
He’s warning there are issues with the safety, including some bought on popular Chinese retail platforms.