Source: European Parliament
Pushchairs, whether imported or manufactured in the EU, are not subject to origin marking. The Union Customs Code (UCC) establishes that imported products originate in the country where they underwent their last substantial, economically justified transformation[1].
Usually, simple assembly does not confer origin. Were the Commission to propose a label certifying EU origin, it could take into consideration the origin criteria set out in the UCC.
The EU has several trade defence instruments, such as anti-dumping or anti-subsidy duties, to protect European production against unfair international trade.
EU industry can contact the complaints office of the Directorate-General for Trade for advice[2]. The increase of the EU customs duties for pushchairs may not be the appropriate policy tool, especially since the maximum bound rates authorised for the EU under its World Trade Organisation commitments for pushchairs correspond to the applied most favoured nation rates.
On 17 May 2023 the Commission proposed a comprehensive Customs Reform package[3] to strengthen EU customs’ capacity to monitor the import of goods from third countries .
This includes the creation of a new EU Customs Authority and an EU Customs Data Hub, which will centralise data to improve , amongst others, targeting of unsafe products.
The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)[4] introduces a digital product passport to store sustainability information on products, accessible electronically, helping economic actors take informed decisions and proving regulatory compliance.
The first ESPR working plan, p rioritising products, will be adopted in April 2025, but pushchairs are not prioritised[5].
- [1] Article 60(2) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code.
- [2] https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/glossary/single-entry-point
- [3] Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52023PC0258
- [4] Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products, amending Directive (EU) 2020/1828 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj/eng
- [5] Based on the Joint Research Centre’s preparatory work, Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation: Study on new product priorities, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC138903