In the modern Chinese dictionary, the definition of a toy is "something specifically designed for children to play with.

With the increasing proportion of toys in today's international trade, the International Organization for Standardization defines toys as "all products and materials designed or ordered for children under 14 years of age to play with" in its ISO 8124-1 standard "Toy Safety - Part 1: Safety in Mechanical and Physical Properties". Various countries have also adopted this definition, such as China's GB6675, the United States' ASTM F963, the European Union's EN71 series, Japan's ST 2012, and other standards.

Some countries or regions have also extended and refined this definition, such as the EU's 2009/48/EC Toy Safety Directive, which expands the scope of toys by adding "whether or not they are specialized products" to the definition of toys; The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in the United States defines children's toys as "consumer goods designed for children under the age of 12 and intended for use by children while they are playing", expanding the age range of application.

Toys mainly correspond to customs HS codes, as shown in the table below

Classification of Toys

There are various types of toys with different classification methods. At present, the classification of toy products in the industry is mainly based on production materials, product functions, product structure, production processes, and applicable objects.

1. Classify according to the materials used for production. Based on the main materials used in the production of toy products, toy products can generally be classified into plush toys, bamboo and wood toys, plastic toys, paper toys, metal toys, etc.

2. Classify by product function. Starting from the functional aspects of material structure and spiritual culture, classify them based on their obvious functional characteristics, generally including electric toys, sound toys, remote-controlled toys, riding toys, catapult toys, model toys, doll toys, handmade toys, etc.

3. Classify by product structure. Classification is based on the main structure of toy products, with a more detailed classification according to product structure. For example, catapult toys can be divided into energy storage structures and non energy storage structures; The inertia structure in mobile toys is divided into different structures such as friction starting inertia, press inertia, and rack pulling inertia.

4. Classify according to the production process. The production process of toy products is diverse, and only when the characteristics of a certain type of toy production process are obvious, will it be used as a classification basis, such as enamel toys, blow molded toys, printed iron toys, stuffed toys, etc.

5. Classify by usage object. The age range of toy product users is very large, which can be divided into children, teenagers, adults, elderly people, etc. according to their growth stages. The childhood stage can be further divided into infants, toddlers, preschool children, and school-age children.

The current situation of the toy industry

China is the world's largest toy manufacturing and exporting country. According to statistics, in 2018, the toy industry in China achieved exports of $25.084 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.5%. Due to historical factors, China's toy industry is mainly dominated by processing trade, with general trade as a supplement. However, after experiencing a downturn in 2008 and 2009, the export of China's toy industry has slowly recovered since 2010. The proportion of processing trade has continued to decline, while the proportion of general export trade has continued to rise.

In recent years, the survival environment of China's toy industry has gradually deteriorated. The main target markets for toys in Europe, America, and other regions are experiencing economic weakness and sluggish demand; The application of technical trade barriers represented by regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures as new trade protection measures is gradually spreading. Countries are competing to raise the entry threshold for toys, and recall notifications in the European and American markets are rapidly increasing; The appreciation of the Chinese yuan and the rise in raw material prices have reduced product profits, and the low price processing trade without technical support, cultural support, and brand building has determined that the added value of products is relatively low; The quality and safety standards of toys in our country are relatively lagging behind. The combination of the above factors has hindered the healthy development of the toy industry.

In 2018 and 2019, 375 batches of exported toys in China were returned from overseas, with a total value of 12.4096 million US dollars. 1067 batches were notified by the European Union RAPEX.

In 2018 alone, 520 batches of Chinese made toys were recalled by the European Union, mainly due to small parts, ortho benzene, and electric toy structures.

Technical barriers of major trading countries

U.S.A：ASTM F963、HR4040、 California Proposition 65: Toy manufacturers obtain third-party certification from CPSC accredited laboratories to demonstrate compliance with ASTM F963-11 Toy Safety Standard, making ASTM F963-11 a mandatory toy standard

Japan：ST2016 and Japan's Food Hygiene Law, Japanese Toy Standard ST 2016

european union：EN71-3、 New EU Directive (2009/48/EC), EU Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation and Licensing of Chemicals (REACH), EU Directive on Electricity and Batteries (2002/525/EC), EU Directive on Phthalate Plasticizers (2005/84/EC), EU Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment - ROHS Directive (2011/65/EU), Directive (EU) 2015/863, EU Directive on the Prohibition of Hazardous Azo Dyes (2002/61/EC), EU Directive on the Prohibition of Blue Imidacine Dyes (2003/03/EC), EU Directive on the Prohibition of Two Brominated Flame retardants (79/663/EC 83/264/EEC/2003/11/EC), Nickel Release Directive (94/27/EC), Pentachlorophenol Directive (91/17) 3/EEC, 1999/51/EC), Cadmium Content Directive (91/338/EEC), REACH Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Regulation 1272/2013/EU, EN 71-1: 2014 "Toy Safety Part: Mechanical Physical Properties" EN 71-2:2012 "Safety of Toys Part 2: Flammability", Directive 2012/7/EU, EN 71-12:2013 "Safety of Toys Part 12: N-Nitrosamines and N-Nitroso Substances", EN 71-4:2013 "Safety of Toys Part 4: Experimental Devices Designed for Chemical Reactions and Related Activities"

国外技术壁垒对出口玩具的影响

The impact of foreign technological barriers on the export of toys

One is to significantly increase the cost of toy companies and reduce product competitiveness. In order to meet new technological requirements, Chinese toy export enterprises must increase investment, including using new raw materials, updating testing equipment, transforming production lines, and researching product design. These measures will inevitably increase the production cost of exported toys. At the same time, it also increases the cost of product testing, certification, and technological innovation and transformation.

The second is to raise the market access threshold and reduce trade opportunities. There are numerous technical trade measures and restrictions in foreign countries, and the content of these restrictions is varied. However, Chinese enterprises have missed the opportunity to complete transactions or have been forced to cancel orders due to incomplete or untimely collection of relevant standards and certification regulations from importing countries.

Thirdly, it exacerbates the trade risks of toy exports and hinders China's toy exports. In 2007, the world's largest toy company, American X Company, began recalling Chinese toy products, resulting in a recall of 967000 toy products by a toy company in Guangzhou, which required compensation of more than 30 million US dollars, causing heavy losses to Chinese companies and triggering a trust crisis for "Made in China" toys. At the same time, due to information asymmetry, rapid updates of foreign standards, and other reasons, sometimes toy products exported from China are only detected as not meeting technical standards or standards have been updated after being shipped to the importing country, and are detained, ordered to be returned, or even forcibly destroyed by the importing country, causing trade frictions.

Fourthly, objectively promote the industrial upgrading of the toy industry. Developed countries have high quality requirements, advanced production technology and processes, and strong innovation capabilities, which also forces China's toy industry to undergo industrial upgrading.

Suggestions on countermeasures for enterprises to cope with foreign technical trade measures

✔ Enterprises should establish the concept of product responsibility, strengthen product quality awareness, and effectively improve quality control capabilities.

✔ Improve research and development capabilities and enhance the internal strength of technology trade measures. Establish a laboratory with certain toy testing capabilities.

✔ Establish a risk assessment self-control mechanism.

✔ Strengthen the response to technological barriers in emerging markets. Currently, the Middle East, ASEAN, and other regions have identified "safety, health, and environment" as the focus of technological barriers, and tend to directly reference or refer to European and American requirements in the process of formulating regulations and standards. The mandatory toy standard ES 7093/2014 issued by Egypt in 2015 is directly in line with the EU Toy Directive 2009/48/EC.

✔ Enterprises should keep abreast of the updates of foreign standards and technical regulations in a timely manner. They can log in to relevant websites such as the China Technical Trade Measures website (www.tbtsps. cn) for inquiries.

Source | Customs Release