Do product safety rules apply to an importer?
Short answer
Yes, this is the core case. The importer verifies the documentation, is named on the product and is reachable in the Union.
Read against the registers 2026-08-26.
Who the role is
Whoever places a product from outside the union on the union market steps into the manufacturer's line of duties.
What the topic covers
The EU sets one general safety duty with named economic operators and a liability regime behind it. China works through compulsory certification and origin rules at the border.
Duties the EU acts name for this role
- General Product Safety Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2023/988, Article 11: Verify before import that the manufacturer did its analysis, its documentation and its marking.
- Product Liability Directive — Directive (EU) 2024/2853: Answer for a defective product when the manufacturer is established outside the union.
- Market Surveillance Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 4: Be the responsible person in the union when the manufacturer has none there.
The rows behind the answer
European Union
- General Product Safety Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2023/988: General safety requirement, a responsible person in the Union and duties per economic operator.
- Product Liability Directive — Directive (EU) 2024/2853: Liability for defective products, extended to software and to digital components.
- Market Surveillance Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2019/1020: Market surveillance powers and the requirement that a person in the Union is reachable for compliance.
United States
No US row in our register for this topic. That is a gap in the register, not a statement that no rule exists.
China
- Regulations on Compulsory Product Certification (CCC): Named product categories require certification before they may be sold on the Chinese market.
- Regulations on the Origin of Import and Export Goods: Determines the origin of goods, which decides duty treatment and labelling at import.
Where companies usually start
- Name the responsible person in the Union before the first shipment, not after a complaint.
- Check whether the product category sits on the Chinese certification list.
- Keep the technical file and the origin documents in the same place.
This page reads published registers and describes common practice. It is not legal advice and it is not a compliance verdict.
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Machine-readable summaries for AI agents: /llms.txt and /llms-full.txt.
