Ziel des Gesetzes (wenn es aus dem Entwurf ein Gesetz wird): Ausländische Hersteller sollen ohne zivilprozessuale und kollisionsrechtliche (internationales Recht) Probleme auch in den USA verklagt werden können! Das weitere Gesetzgebungsverfahren ist wachsam zu beobachten. Gegebenefalls muss zur rechten Zeit ein Registered Agent für den deutschen Hersteller bestellt werden. Im folgenden die Zusammenfassung des Gesetzesentwurfes. Im übrigen sind weiterführende Informationen bei NIETZER & HÄUSLER erfhältlich.
Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2010 – Directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (with respect to drugs, devices, cosmetics, and biological products), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) (with respect to consumer products), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (with respect to chemical substances, new chemical substances, and pesticides) to require foreign manufacturers and producers of such products (or components used to manufacture them), in excess of a minimum value or quantity, to establish a registered agent in the United States who is authorized to accept service of process on their behalf for the purpose of all civil and regulatory actions in state and federal courts. Requires the registered agent to be located in a state with a substantial connection to the importation, distribution, or sale of the products. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish, maintain, and make available to the public a registry of such agents. Deems a foreign manufacturer or producer of products covered under this Act that registers an agent to consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state or federal courts of the state in which the agent is located for the purpose of any civil or regulatory proceeding. Prohibits importation into the United States of a covered product (or component part that will be used in the United States to manufacture a covered product) if the product (or component part) or any part of the product (or component part) was manufactured or produced outside the United States by a manufacturer or producer who does not have a registered agent whose authority is in effect on the date of the importation. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to jointly study the feasibility and advisability of requiring foreign producers of food distributed in commerce to establish a registered agent in the United States who is authorized to accept service of process on behalf of such producers for the purpose of all civil and regulatory actions in state and federal courts.
Was fällt nun unter „Consumer products“? Vieles! So dass sicher ist, dass auch viele deutsche Hersteller, die in die USA exportrieren, betroffen sein werden.
Consumer product
The term “consumer product” means any article, or component part thereof, produced or distributed
(i) for sale to a consumer for use in or around a permanent or temporary household or residence, a school, in recreation, or otherwise, or
(ii) for the personal use, consumption or enjoyment of a consumer in or around a permanent or temporary household or residence, a school, in recreation, or otherwise; but such term does not include—
(A) any article which is not customarily produced or distributed for sale to, or use or consumption by, or enjoyment of, a consumer,
(B) tobacco and tobacco products,
C) motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment (as defined by section 30102(a)(6) and (7) of title 49),
(D) pesticides (as defined by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act [7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.]),
(E) any article which, if sold by the manufacturer, producer, or importer, would be subject to the tax imposed by section 4181 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [26 U.S.C. 4181] (determined without regard to any exemptions from such tax provided by section 4182 or 4221, or any other provision of such Code), or any component of any such article,
F) aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, or appliances (as defined in section 40102(a) of title 49),
(G) boats which could be subjected to safety regulation under chapter 43 of title 46; vessels, and appurtenances to vessels (other than such boats), which could be subjected to safety regulation under title 52 of the Revised Statutes or other marine safety statutes administered by the department in which the Coast Guard is operating; and equipment (including associated equipment, as defined in section 2101(1) of title 46) to the extent that a risk of injury associated with the use of such equipment on boats or vessels could be eliminated or reduced by actions taken under any statute referred to in this subparagraph,
(H) drugs, devices, or cosmetics (as such terms are defined in sections 201(g), (h), and (i) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 321(g), (h), and (i)]), or
(I) food. The term “food”, as used in this subparagraph means all “food”, as defined in section 201(f) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 321 (f)], including poultry and poultry products (as defined in sections 4(e) and (f) of the Poultry Products Inspection Act [21 U.S.C. 453 (e) and (f)]), meat, meat food products (as defined in section 1(j) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act [21 U.S.C. 601 (j)]), and eggs and egg products (as defined in section 4 of the Egg Products Inspection Act [21 U.S.C. 1033]).
Such term includes any mechanical device which carries or conveys passengers along, around, or over a fixed or restricted route or course or within a defined area for the purpose of giving its passengers amusement, which is customarily controlled or directed by an individual who is employed for that purpose and who is not a consumer with respect to such device, and which is not permanently fixed to a site. Such term does not include such a device which is permanently fixed to a site. Except for the regulation under this chapter or the Federal Hazardous Substances Act [15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.] of fireworks devices or any substance intended for use as a component of any such device, the Commission shall have no authority under the functions transferred pursuant to section 2079 of this title to regulate any product or article described in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph or described, without regard to quantity, in section 845 (a)(5) of title 18. See sections 2079 (d) [1] and 2080 of this title, for other limitations on Commission’s authority to regulate certain consumer products.
