| Chinese Position Paper on the EU Draft Commission Decision on Child-resistant Lighters |
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| 2006-03-13 18:07 Ministry of Commerce of China |
The Chinese side has studied the WTO/TBT notification submitted by the EU of the Draft European Commission Decision requiring Member States to take measures to ensure that only lighters which are child-resistant (hereinafter referred to as CR) are be placed on the market and to prohibit the placing on the market of novelty lighters (hereinafter referred to as the CR Draft). It is noted with pleasure that the CR Draft reflects some of the Chinese opinions presented to EU in the previous discussions.; howeverHowever, the following issues in the CR Draft still raise concerns.
I. Exemption of CR requirement on certain refillable lighters
It is noted that the second paragraph of Art.1.1 of the CR Draft provides that the definition of lighter provided in the first paragraph of Art. 1.1. “shall not apply to refillable lighters” that meet the requirements as listed in the following paragraphs. It should be pointed out that the refillable lighters still fall in the family of lighters. Though the CR Draft provides certain requirements that they should fulfill with respect to a 2-year written guarantee, at least 5-year lifetime, after-sales service, and etc., the requirements cannot change the practical function of the refillable lighters, which is to generate flame to ignite materials such as cigarette, candles and , etc.. Neither could can it be interpretedexplained as that by fulfilling the requirements, the lighters be assumed child-resistant. Once being misused by children, the seriousness of the risk posed by the refillable lighters to children’s safety should the same as any other groups of lighters do.
There is no factual support for not applying the definition of lighter as provided in the first paragraph of Art. 1.1 to the refillable lighters described in the second paragraph and the following indents of Art. 1.1 of CR Draft. In addition, provisions of Art. 1.1 of CR Draft result in the non-applicability of CR requirement on the refillable lighters.; Thus thus, different treatments are granted to different groups of products with the same function and risk on an arbitrary basis, which is deemed inconsistent with the WTO/TBT Agreement.
II. Prohibition of placing on the market of novelty lighters
It is noted that other WTO members with legislation establishing CR requirements for lighters allow novelty lighters with qualified CR device to be placed on the market. The US study on the effectiveness of CR requirement cited by the CR Draft reports s a 60% reduction in accidents, which proves that CR device on lighters can effectively prevent children from successfully operating lighters. The CR Draft fails to justify why novelty lighters complying with the CR requirement as provided in Art. 1.3 of the CR Draft should be prohibited to be placed on the market. Novelty lighters complying with CR requirement should be deemed as almost impossible for the successful operation by children. It is noticed that most of the novelty lighters currently placed on the EU market are originated from P. R. China. The prohibition constitutes a de facto discrimination against the Chinese products.
As the CR Draft is applicable until twelve months from the date of notification, it is recommended that amendment to the CR Draft be made to lift the prohibition of novelty lighters fulfilling CR requirement, and that an risk assessment on child-resistant novelty lighters be conducted after twelve months as of the enactment of the CR Draft.
III. Transition period.
Art. 2 of the CR Draft provides that as of ten months from the date of notification of the CR Draft, only lighters which are child-resistant are could be placed on the market. Producers must keep and provide on request without delay to the competent authorities a report of a the child-resistance test for each model of lighters to certify its child-resistance, certifying the child-resistance of the model of lighters placed on the market. According to the experience of US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the time needed to complete a CR test normally varies from 3 to 12 months. There are hundreds over one thousand of types of lighters originated from China currently being placed on the EU market, and child-resistant models for each type should be made for CR test. The Chinese side is concerned about the capability of the EU recognized testing bodies to conduct with 10 months all the CR tests as requested by the Chinese producers. It is recommended that the transitional period be extended to at least 20 months.
IV. Hard-piezo & slippery wheel being presumed as child-resistant
CR tests conducted by the US CPSC reveal that children under 51 months cannot successfully operate a lighter if the force needed to push it down exceeds 8.5 pounds. It is recommended that the CR Draft presumed as child-resistant the lighters as child-resistant that the force needed to operate them exceeds 8.5 pounds, and that relevant testing standards and procedures be developed in order to avoid using lots of children as test tools.
V. Mutual recognition of the CR test results.
Art. 4.2 of the CR Draft provides that reports of a child-resistance test issued by test bodies in third countries who meet certain criteria will be recognized by EU. It is hoped that the EU could further clarify the practice about the mutual recognition, and that a list of the EU recognized testing bodies, in particular those in P. R. China, will would be published at the earliest date.
It is hoped that the EU side could further clarify certain definitions and requirements as provided in the CR Draft, such as “luxury and semi-luxury lighter”, “repairable ignition mechanism”, “authorized or specialized after-sales service centre based in the European Union” and its detailed requirements and procedures, etc.
The Chinese side would like to reaffirm that the Chinese authorities and stakeholders fully understand and support the EU’s effort to improveed the protection on children; . hHowever, it is hoped that a sufficient consideration will be given to the abovementioned concerns, and that amendments will be made. Thus, the enforcement of the CR Draft may minimize the possible negative effects on the Sino-EU bilateral trade in lighters and improve the level of protection on children. |
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