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Imports: Standards

Asked by Tom RutlandLabourDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 12 May 2025UIN 49625

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure international companies exporting into the UK are held to the same (a) quality and (b) safety regulations as domestic (i) manufacturers and (ii) sellers.

Answered by Justin Madders

Product safety regulations set requirements for the safety of consumer products placed on the UK market. Importers must ensure their products comply and distributors must not supply products that they know, or should know, are dangerous.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards and local authority regulators enforce the law. They use data and intelligence to target enforcement activity at dangerous and non-compliant products at the border.

The Government’s Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will provide powers to further strengthen our product safety framework and update it to reflect modern supply chains, including through new, proportionate duties on online marketplaces.

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