(Sept. 25, 2014) In August 2014, it was announced that Mexico’s Federal Consumer Protection Agency (known as PROFECO) and the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at reducing, through the exchange of information and cooperative activities, the risks of injuries and deaths associated with consumer products. (Press Release, PROFECO, México y EU Unen Esfuerzos para Reducir Riesgos de Lesiones y Muertes Asociadas con Productos de Consumo (Aug. 18, 2014).)
Specifically, the MOU will foster collaboration in the following areas:
· market oversight;
· exchange of public regulatory data when legally appropriate;
· joint review of safety risks; and
· alignment of requirements applicable to consumer product safety when feasible and conducive to enhancing product safety. (Press Release, Embassy of the United States in Mexico, United States and Mexico Sign MOU on Product Safety (Aug. 18, 2014).)
In addition, the MOU is aimed at increasing the exchange of publicly available information, such as guides, policies, procedures, certain scientific and technical documents concerning consumer products, some results of laboratory tests, and information on regulatory actions, including product recalls. (Press Release, PROFECO, supra.) PROFECO and the CPSC will notify the public about recalls of products manufactured and distributed in Mexico, and the agencies will notify each other about products that do not comply with applicable regulations or statutes in the two countries. (Id.)