INDUSTRY FORUM TOY ASSOCIATION
Excitement Builds for Toy Industry Events This Fall by Kristin Morency Goldman As the toy & play community embarks on a new As part of its ongoing efforts to assure open markets year once again filled with both opportunities and between nations and maximize product availability and challenges, The Toy Association remains focused on choice, The Toy Association also submitted comments tackling issues impacting members – from counterfeits to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and global supply chain challenges to e-commerce and regarding foreign trade barriers impacting the U.S. toy sustainability trends. industry’s ability to export safe toys to international “Protecting our members and helping them advance markets. International alignment and harmonization of their businesses here at home and around the world rerisk-based standards continues to provide a high level mains one of the most vital reasons for The Toy Associ- of confidence that toys in any market can be trusted as ation’s existence,” said Steve Pasierb, President & CEO. safe for use by children – an important point made by A key focus in 2022 will be to assist members seeking the Association for the USTR’s annual National Trade growth and expansion in international markets. The Toy Estimate Repot on Foreign Trade Barriers for 2022. Association’s recently launched international member“Despite operating within an extremely volatile ship level and International Committee is comprised of business environment due to the ongoing pandemic large, medium, and small companies, and was created to and supply chain disruptions, the U.S. toy industry has ensure the Association’s external affairs team maintains remained committed to ensuring the maintenance and the necessary responsiveness and resources it needs to application of strict product safety standards and reguaddress both legislative / regulatory issues and market lations around the globe,” stated Pasierb in the Associaaccess initiatives in dozens of countries. tion’s comments. “Our advocacy work in U.S. state capitols and in The external affairs team also provided comments Washington, DC remains robust, with legislative and regarding Brazil Ordinance 302 and made recommenregulatory activity at an all-time high,” noted Pasierb. dations for clarifications on small parts, projectiles, toys “But our team has also been involved in a significant with lasers, cords and elastics, and other sections of the amount of advocacy and market access efforts in over ordinance, and successfully convinced several foreign 40 nations, including India, Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia markets (including Jamaica and Colombia) to accept the and the EU. The International Committee enables us to ASTM F963 standard for toys, helping to reduce trade continually push back on threats and seize new prosbarriers and testing costs for members wishing to sell in pects on a global level by providing our team with direct these markets. input as we align staff priorities with member needs.” As The Toy Association continues to forecast and Notably in 2021, The Toy Association led an interna- advocate on global issues impacting the toy & play comtional, multi-stakeholder effort to defeat an ISO (Intermunity, members are invited to join the International national Organization for Standardization) proposal Committee. The group meets at least once a month for a standard on marketing to children which would (and more frequently as needed) and convenes annually have layered redundant requirements on top of effective to agree on the overall strategy and budgeting for the regulatory structures already observed by the indusAssociation’s international advocacy activity. try. Thanks to the Association’s advocacy and global outreach urging others to weigh in against the proposal, To learn more or to join the committee, contact Ed Desmond, ISO did not gain enough votes to support development executive vice president of external affairs (edesmond@toyassoof the standard, saving countless hours and resources of ciation.org). all stakeholders from having to develop an unnecessary guidance when strong and effective standards already exist. 10 tfe May/June 2022
