Safety standards, labeling, and country of origin

Before you import a product, make sure it meets U.S. safety standards, carries the right labeling, and is marked with its correct country of origin. Product compliance is the importer's responsibility — not your supplier's and not your forwarder's — and non-compliant goods can be held, refused, or recalled. This article covers the basics; it isn't an exhaustive list of regulations, and for anything uncertain you should get legal advice.

Compliance is the importer's responsibility, and the consequences of getting it wrong are real:

• Customs can hold or refuse a shipment. Only a portion of shipments are inspected, but if an inspector finds a compliance problem, the shipment stops — and there's often no quick fix once it's flagged. See Customs exams and holds.

• Products can be recalled. If goods prove unsafe, agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) can order a recall, meaning you contact customers, take the product back, and refund them.

• Marketplaces enforce it too. Platforms such as Amazon systematically require compliance documentation and remove sellers with non-compliant goods.

Risk scales with the product. Importing power banks carries far more compliance work than importing plain T-shirts — but common requirements apply across many product types.

Most products sold in the U.S. must be marked with their country of origin (for example, "Made in China"); a few categories are exceptions. Make sure the country of origin is clearly stated on your Commercial Invoice and marked on the goods themselves. See Commercial Invoice and Packing List: what we need.

Textile and apparel products generally must carry:

• Fiber composition

• Care instructions (using recognized care symbols)

• English-language labeling

When you import garments, give your supplier a print-ready digital label file so the labels are correct before production.

Children's products fall under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). In practice that usually means you must:

• Confirm the applicable safety standards apply to your product.

• Have a sample tested by an accredited lab.

• Issue a Children's Product Certificate (CPC).

• Attach a permanent tracking label to each product and its packaging.

Electronic products with wireless functions are regulated by the FCC and may need to carry an FCC mark. Many buyers also look for voluntary safety marks (such as UL or ETL) as evidence of electrical safety.

Federal rules regulate certain substances (for example, formaldehyde in children's products), and some state rules go further — California's Proposition 65 covers a wide range of products, not just those made for children.

Anything that contacts food or drink — kitchenware, appliances, packaging — must meet food-contact material rules and must not transfer substances into food or affect its smell or taste.

Even where no specific standard applies, you're expected to assess whether your product is safe in any reasonably foreseeable use. Safety starts at the design stage.

1. Identify the standards. Work out which safety and chemical standards apply to your product (a search like "ASTM standard for [product]" is a good start, or check the relevant agency directly).

2. Confirm the design. Compare your product against the technical requirements, and confirm which chemical or heavy-metal limits apply.

3. Specify it in your contract. Require in writing that your supplier's goods meet the applicable standards.

4. Get labels right. Create the required label files and send them to your supplier before production.

5. Keep documents. Complete and retain compliance certificates and test reports — keep records for several years.

6. Lab-test samples. Submit samples to an accredited testing company; the test report is your proof of compliance.

Warning: Don't expect suppliers to hand you "ready-made" U.S. compliance certificates. Verify that your supplier can actually meet the applicable standards, and get your own testing done.

Country of origin isn't only a labeling matter — it also affects your customs duty. It can determine whether a free-trade preference applies, whether a quota affects your goods, and whether anti-dumping or countervailing duties apply. See Customs duties and HTS codes.

Compliance decisions and testing are yours to own — we can't certify your product for you — but we can help you understand what customs will expect at entry and flag documentation gaps that commonly cause holds. Bring us your product details early, and for regulated categories (children's goods, electronics, anything food-contact) plan the testing and labeling well before production, not after the goods are made.

• Customs duties and HTS codes

• The customs clearance process

• Customs exams and holds: what to expect

• Commercial Invoice and Packing List: what we need

• Freight & shipping glossary