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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210730Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7051
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000225 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMMISSION RICH O'BRIEN/INTL 
PROGRAMS 
STATE PASS USTR CHINA OFFICE 
STATE PASS HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL 
STATE PASS IMPORT SAFETY WORKING GROUP 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD EIND TBIO ECON PGOV CH
SUBJECT: Despite One-Stop Lab, Producers Still Complain about 
Duplicate Testing 
 
REF: A) GUANGZHOU 146; B) 2007 GUANGZHOU 1226 
 
(U) This document is sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. Not for release outside U.S. government channels. Not 
for internet publication. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Even with the opening of south China's first 
joint-venture testing lab that will provide one-stop shopping for 
third party and government testing, toy manufacturers in the Pearl 
River Delta complain about the burden of meeting multiple standards. 
 They believe that that a new conformity assessment program 
established by the U.S. toy industry and new laws issued by state 
governments will further increase duplicate testing.  In addition, 
they find it difficult to obtain up-to-date information on recent 
changes in various standards around the world.  Toy industry 
insiders continue to express hope for toy standards harmonization, 
which would increase overall safety and reduce total costs for safe, 
high quality toys around the world.  End summary. 
 
One Stop Testing -- Joint Venture Testing Lab Opens 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Intertek and the Guangdong branch of China Inspection and 
Quarantine Service (CIQ) officially unveiled their new joint venture 
toy lab on March 28.  Intertek executives described the joint 
venture as a critical step for south China's toy industry because it 
will lower overall costs by reducing the need for duplicate testing 
at third-party and government laboratories.  Executives representing 
several foreign toy buyers said they were impressed with the new lab 
and pleased by the prospect of a streamlined testing process.  Mr. 
Chen Yang of Guangdong CIQ said the new lab doubles the CIQ's toy 
testing capacity in Guangdong Province.  Guangdong CIQ will assign 
as many as 10 officers at a time to work at the joint venture 
laboratory, mostly in oversight and management roles.  Nevertheless, 
one Intertek official boasted to Econoff at the opening ceremony 
that although this lab adds significant space to Intertek's south 
China toy testing capacity, the company's Shekou (Shenzhen) toy lab 
is larger and more advanced. 
 
But Duplicate Testing Increasing 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Despite this step forward in streamlining testing, south 
China's toy makers complain that they feel besieged by external 
safety and compliance mandates.  Some large firms said the recently 
proposed Toy Safety Coordination Initiative (TSCI), proposed by the 
U.S. toy industry and standards body American National Standards 
Institute (ANSI), was similar to other standards but less strict 
than testing and safety requirements imposed by major U.S. buyers 
like Wal-Mart and Toys R Us.  Several smaller firms and the 
Guangdong Toy Association complained that the new TSCI proposal 
would virtually duplicate China's safety standards for toys sold 
domestically (known as the China Compulsory Certification mark, or 
"3C" mark), raising the costs for toy makers, and possibly for 
consumers, by a large margin.  Some testing firms also raised 
questions about the effect of U.S. state governments imposing their 
own safety requirements, potentially adding another layer of 
complexity to the current regulatory environment. 
 
Information Dissemination Needs Improvement 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Many toy manufacturers tell us they rely heavily on 
third-party testing organizations for information on new standards. 
Testing companies and the Guangdong Toy Association said they have 
dedicated staff working to obtain the latest safety requirements 
from importing countries, as well as dissemination strategies 
including seminars, postal mailings and email, websites and other 
forms of outreach.  Many manufacturers and testing companies have 
told us of the need for more centralized release of standards 
information, complaining that China's General Administration of 
Quality Supervision and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and Ministry of Commerce 
(MOFCOM) do not seem well prepared to disseminate timely, accurate 
information to China's toy industry. 
 
¶5. (U) China's authorities are reportedly taking a more active role 
in the area of soliciting industry comments to foreign standards 
 
GUANGZHOU 00000225  002 OF 002 
 
 
changes.  Toy makers and their industry association said AQSIQ and 
MOFCOM had translated proposed U.S. and EU regulations into Chinese 
and requested specific comments from industry through local CIQ 
offices.  CIQ officials indicated to industry contacts that their 
comments would be conveyed to foreign governments deliberating new 
toy safety regulations. 
 
Calling Again for Harmonized Standards 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) There is broad agreement among manufacturers and testing 
companies that standards harmonization between different countries 
and buyers would be the most effective strategy for increasing toy 
safety and reducing costs.  They emphasized that under the current 
system there is no way to avoid conducting a separate battery of 
tests to demonstrate compliance with each set of standards.  Many 
companies see the rapidly changing regulatory environment as a 
serious business challenge.  Several pointed out that uncertainties 
over changing regulations could force toy makers to incur 
substantial new capital costs without assurance that the new 
regulations will stabilize in coming years. 
 
GOLDBERG