Importing into the United States - Indo-American Chamber Of ...

ject to specific requirements to prevent tipover.
Fireworks not meeting any of these requirements
cannot be imported into the United
States.
17. Flammable Fabrics. Any article of wearing
apparel, fabric or interior furnishing cannot be
imported into the United States if it fails to conform
to an applicable flammability standard
issued under the Flammable Fabrics Act. These
flammability standards cover general wearing
apparel, children’s sleepwear, mattresses
(including futons), and carpets and rugs. Certain
products can be imported into the United
States, as provided in Section 11(c) of the Act,
for the purpose of finishing or processing to
render such products not so highly flammable
as to be dangerous when worn by individuals,
provided that the exporter states on the invoice
or other paper relating to the shipment that the
shipment is being made for that purpose.
18. Art Materials. Art materials cannot be
imported into the United States unless they
meet the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials
Act (LHAMA) of 1988, which is an amendment
to the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.
LHAMA requires that chronically hazardous
art materials carry the warning labeling specified
in an industry standard, ASTM D-4236.
This standard also requires that art materials
carry a label certifying that they have been
reviewed by a toxicologist and identifying any
known hazards.
19. Cigarette Lighters. Disposable and novelty
cigarette lighters cannot be admitted into the
United States unless they meet a safety standard
issued under the Consumer Product
Safety Act that requires them to be child-resistant.
All nonrefillable lighters, and refillable
lighters whose customs value is less than $2.00
and that use gas as a fuel, are considered to be
“disposable lighters” and are covered by the
standard. Novelty lighters are lighters (using
any type of fuel) which have entertaining audio
or visual effects or that depict articles commonly
recognized as intended for use by children
under five years of age. Manufacturers
must test lighters, keep records and report the
results to CPSC. A Certificate of Compliance
must accompany each shipping unit of the
product, or otherwise be furnished to the distributor
or retailer to whom the product is
delivered by the manufacturer, private labeler
or importer.
20. Other Regulations and Standards. CPSC
has issued a number of other safety standards
and regulations. These have generally been of
less interest to the importing community
because fewer of these items are imported.
These include:
■ Architectural glazing,
■ Matchbooks,
■ CB and TV antennas,
■ Walk-behind power lawn-mowers,
■ Swimming pool slides,
■ Cellulose insulation,
■ Garage door-operators,
■ Unstable refuse bins,
■ Flammable contact adhesives,
■ Patching compounds with asbestos,
■ Emberizing materials with asbestos,
■ Household chemicals,
■ Refrigerator doors,
■
Poison Prevention Packaging Act (requires
child-resistant packaging of certain drugs
and household chemicals).
ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
21. Radiation-Producing Products, Including
Sonic Radiation. Television products that
incorporate a cathode-ray tube, cold-cathode
gas discharge tubes, microwave ovens, cabinet
and diagnostic x-ray equipment, laser products,
ultrasound physical therapy equipment, sunlamps,
CD–ROMs, cellular and cordless telephones,
and other electronic products for
which there are radiation performance standards,
are subject to the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act, Chapter V, Subchapter C—
Electronic Product Radiation (formerly called
the Radiation Control Health and Safety Act of
1968). An electronic product (a) for which there
is a radiation performance standard and (b)
that is imported for sale or use in the United
States may be imported only if a declaration
(Form FDA 2877) is filed with each importer’s
entry notice. Form FDA 2877 is available from
IMPORTING INTO THE UNITED STATES
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