The European Union have announced plans for some enhanced measures to ensure product compliance for goods entering the EU.

eBay has released a statement to inform their sellers as to what this means for sellers that send items to Europe. The statement reads as follows:

“We want to provide an update regarding plans by the European Union to enhance enforcement of product compliance, which will impact US sellers selling to buyers in the EU. The EU Regulations on market surveillance, together with the Guidelines for its practical implementation, established the legal framework for customs or regulators to verify and enforce requirements of EU product compliance including the CE symbol (see image below) which is a certification by manufacturers that the products meet EU legal and safety standards.

Starting July 16, 2021, CE-marked products sold into the EU, will require an “economic operator” established in the EU. (Economic operators are responsible for working with authorities by providing technical information or taking certain action for the products.) An economic operator can be a manufacturer, importer, authorized representative or a fulfilment service provider. Most larger brands of CE-marked products will have an economic operator already established in the EU.

You will be required to ensure the name and contact details of the EU economic operator are listed on the product or in the product packaging. (This information generally accompanies new in-box items manufactured or imported for the EU market.) If the products you ship to the EU don’t contain this information, your goods may be stopped at customs or prevented from being delivered to your buyer.

eBay is working to obtain more information as well as options for sellers who sell goods that do not have an economic operator. Please visit our Help Hub page for the latest updates.”

Does this impact your business? Let us know in the comments or over in our Facebook group.