Consumer Product Safety Commission: Action Needed to Improve Preparedness for Product Examination Disruptions
Fast Facts
From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic through August 2020, the Consumer Product Safety Commission conducted significantly fewer examinations of imported products. Working remotely, CPSC investigators conducted 850 examinations compared to 4,537 during the same period in 2019.
CPSC wasn't well prepared entering the pandemic, when port staff stopped conducting onsite examinations. The agency made decisions about its operations and remote procedures as conditions evolved because it didn't have a fully developed continuity plan.
We recommended, among other things, that CPSC develop a continuity plan that better prepares it for future emergencies.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) implemented remote examination procedures in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the period when all CPSC investigators worked remotely—March through August 2020—investigators conducted significantly fewer examinations of consumer products than during similar periods in prepandemic years. Specifically, port investigators conducted 850 examinations during this period compared to 4,537 in March through August 2019 (see figure). Monthly examinations returned to prepandemic levels in early 2021, although the trade value of imported consumer products had returned to prepandemic levels in July 2020. CPSC also identified significantly fewer import violations for consumer products during the period its port staff worked off-site—187 violations between March and August 2020, compared to 1,413 during the same period in 2019.
CPSC Examinations of Shipment Entries by Month, 2018–2021
CPSC did not have a finalized continuity of operations plan prior to the pandemic, and had not assessed catastrophic emergency risks, as required by federal directives. As a result, CPSC made decisions regarding continuity of operations at the ports and its remote procedures as conditions evolved. The scope of products CPSC examined when port investigators were withdrawn was limited. Remote procedures also did not account for differences across ports, such as the types of products arriving at individual ports. This led to variations in the number of examinations investigators conducted while working remotely compared to examinations conducted prepandemic at selected ports. No examinations were conducted at one of these ports during the withdrawal period. By finalizing a comprehensive continuity of operations plan, CPSC would be better prepared for disruptions from future emergencies.
CPSC has taken steps to implement COVID-19-related requirements in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. However, it has not addressed two specific requirements to (1) examine a sample of de minimis shipments (valued at $800 or less) for violations of standards and (2) develop performance metrics for its efforts to reduce noncompliant de minimis shipments. As a result, CPSC's ability to detect and report on noncompliant de minimis shipments, typically found in the growing e-commerce environment, is limited.
Why GAO Did This Study
In support of CPSC's product safety mission, agency investigators examine consumer products entering certain U.S. ports. To protect worker safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, CPSC's leadership withdrew investigators from these ports in March 2020. As a result, CPSC was largely unable to conduct in-person examinations of imported products until investigators began returning to ports in September 2020.
GAO was asked to review CPSC's withdrawal of investigators during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the CARES Act requires GAO to report on ongoing monitoring and oversight efforts related to COVID-19. This report examines, among other objectives, (1) CPSC's risk mitigation strategies and the extent to which CPSC had emergency plans, and (2) CPSC's implementation of COVID-19-related statutory requirements.
GAO analyzed CPSC documentation; reviewed relevant laws and regulations, including requirements for federal agency continuity of operations plans; interviewed officials at CPSC headquarters and three selected ports and other selected agencies that perform similar inspections; and analyzed data on CPSC examinations and international trade volume.
Recommendations
GAO is making three recommendations, including that CPSC (1) finalize its continuity of operations plans, and (2) fully develop and implement actionable steps and set specific milestones for complying with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. CPSC concurred with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer Product Safety Commission | The Chairman of CPSC should finalize the agency's continuity of operations plan, including conducting and incorporating an underlying risk assessment consistent with Federal Continuity Directive 1. The risk assessment should incorporate port-specific factors that could affect the agency's import surveillance function. (Recommendation 1) |
On February 24, 2023, CPSC provided GAO with an updated and finalized continuity of operations plan. On April 24, 2023, CPSC provided documentation for its underlying risk assessments, such as the business impact analysis for CPSC's import surveillance function, consistent with Federal Continuity Directive 1. The continuity plan and underlying documents included some port-specific factors that could affect CPSC's import surveillance function. These factors include coordinating with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to determine alternate locations where targeted shipments could be made available for examination or the use of telework in situations when ports are closed.
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| Consumer Product Safety Commission | The Chairman of CPSC should perform the required analysis identified in Federal Continuity Directives 1 and 2 to support and determine the designation of essential functions within the agency. (Recommendation 2) |
On February 24, 2023, CPSC provided GAO with an updated and finalized continuity of operations plan. The plan included the designation of essential functions and mentioned that underlying analysis was conducted. On April 24, 2023, CPSC provided the underlying analysis GAO cited in the recommendation. For example, CPSC provided an analysis of mission essential functions, a business process analysis, and a business impact analysis, which included an analysis and designation of essential functions consistent with Federal Continuity Directives 1 and 2.
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| Consumer Product Safety Commission | The Chairman of CPSC should fully develop and implement actionable steps and set specific milestones for complying with section 2001(c)(2)(B) and (E) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, related to examining a sample of de minimis shipments and establishing performance metrics related to de minimis shipments. (Recommendation 3) |
For Section 2001(c)(2)(B) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, CPSC provided an analysis of eCommerce shipments the agency issued in September 2023. The analysis sampled data from a variety of settings (for example, express hubs, land border ports, and air cargo ports) and evaluated eCommerce shipment data from fiscal years 2022 and 2023. In October 2023, CPSC provided GAO a report on the results of this analysis. This report showed that CPSC's sampling of de minimis shipments was consistent with the statute Section 2001(c)(2)(B) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. For Section 2001(c)(2)(E), CPSC developed metrics for de minimis shipments, and included them in CPSC's fiscal year 2023 Operating Plan as baseline metrics. CPSC added targets for these metrics in their 2024 Operating Plan, which was approved in November 2023. This established performance metrics related to de minimis shipments consistent with Section 2001(c)(2)(E) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
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