Russian toy manufacturers propose to simplify the certification of toys

The Russian Association of Enterprises of the Children's Goods Industry (AIDT) has asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation to simplify the procedure for confirming the conformity of toys for domestic manufacturers.

Toy certification procedure for domestic producers

In accordance with the requirements of the technical regulation TR CU 008/2011 "On the safety of toys", toy manufacturers undergo mandatory product certification. This procedure includes the delivery of toy samples for testing in accredited laboratories, analysis of the production state and an annual inspection. These requirements entail significant financial costs for enterprises.

Pilot project only for toys produced abroad

Meanwhile, on July 1, 2021, a pilot project for foreign toy manufacturers was launched in the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. Foreign toys sold via the Internet will be able to undergo the procedure of confirmation of compliance in the form of a declaration, i.e. a free declaration. This is not only a great facilitation in terms of financial matters (which translates into the final price of the product), but also procedural - it allows producers to save a lot of time for dealing with documents and visits to offices.

Double standards for domestic and foreign producers?

At the same time, Russian factories confirm product safety through certification - a much more complex procedure that costs tens of times more. Antonina Tsitsulina, the President of the Russian Association of Enterprises in the Industry of Children's Articles, emphasizes that the EAEU has created conditions for a multiple increase in the turnover of foreign producers in this area, and thus, unequal and unfair conditions of competition have arisen on the market.

Domestic producers expect transparency of regulations and no favoring of foreign entities. AIDT experts emphasize that foreign toys will displace domestic producers from the market, because foreign entities were provided with much more favorable conditions for reaching the consumer. They demand that the current solutions for toys imported from abroad should also be used for domestic production. The EAEU press service announced that this is a pilot project that, after analyzing the results, can be adapted to a more comprehensive and extended formula.