The General Product Safety Regulation – change is happening now!

On Friday 13 December 2024, the General Product Safety Regulation (“GPSR”) will come into force in every EU Member State, replacing the General Product Safety Directive.

As we wrote in our article, Product Safety Law in the UK and Europe, the changes brought about by GPSR are significant and will have widespread impact across a number of sectors and for a number of stakeholders in those sectors, including manufacturers, importers, distributors, online marketplaces, and authorised representatives. 

The GPSR took effect on 12 June 2023 with an 18-month transition period which ends on Friday 13 December 2024. It is important therefore that all businesses with an interest in the EU market and Northern Ireland check whether they will be subject to the new requirements under GSPR and ensure that appropriate steps have been taken to ensure compliance. 

At its heart the GPSR seeks to address the potential dangers created by the ever-growing online marketplace for products and to ensure that market surveillance is sufficiently strengthened to protect purchasers in those marketplaces.

During the 18-month transition period it is hoped that manufacturers will have had chance to make necessary changes, including reviewing safety assessments for their products to ensure that they are compliant with the changes being brought in. As to online sellers and retailers, it is possible that they will have had to rewrite and/or redesign online product listings to ensure that necessary information is provided to prospective purchasers. Both manufactures and online marketplaces will need to be nimble in terms of handling any complaints and/or potential recalls.

The significance of the GPSR should not be taken lightly, and businesses will need to be mindful that Member States will have the power to impose fines (for which the GPSR sets no maximum), and businesses in breach of the GPSR could also be exposed to class action type claims.

The transition period will hopefully have provided relevant businesses across the EU with sufficient time to make the necessary changes to ensure compliance. Any business still needing to do so at this stage will need to act quickly to avoid potential exposure.

If you have any questions about the GPSR or would like to discuss anything mentioned in this article (or in our previous article Product Safety Law in the UK and Europe) further, please contact Clyde & Co’s Product Liability, Safety and Recall Group led by Partners, Peter Barnes and Charlotte Kelly.