INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Rod Freeman, Cooley LLP
report safety incidents, and co-operate more closely with regulators. Trade Tariffs, Geopolitical Tensions and Product Safety Escalating trade tariffs and geopolitical tensions can materially increase product safety risk. Rapid shifts to alternative suppliers, new sourcing markets, or reconfigured supply chains – often undertaken at speed – can introduce new quality, compliance and safety vulnerabilities. As a result, companies are under growing pressure to balance cost and market access objectives against the need to maintain robust prod - uct safety governance and oversight across increas - ingly complex and dynamic supply chains. Consumer Rights Activism Consumer activism continues to intensify, with increasing scrutiny of right-to-repair practices, pre - mature obsolescence, sustainability claims, subscrip - tion models and inadequate consumer disclosures. Expanded transparency obligations and regulatory reporting are generating richer data sets, making it easier for consumers, NGOs and claimant groups to identify and challenge practices perceived as unfair or misleading. ESG: Changing the Landscape In parallel, sustainability and ESG regulation is reshap - ing corporate risk through legally binding require - ments focused on transparency, traceability and due diligence across the full product life cycle – from design and manufacture to use and end‑of‑life. As well as new obligations to integrate sustainability con - siderations into product design, companies are under growing pressure to identify, address and communi - cate on the environmental and human rights impacts of their business models through formal disclosures and direct regulatory engagement, including with cus - toms authorities. This regulatory expansion is materi - ally increasing liability exposure, both for underlying impacts and for misstatements or gaps in ESG‑related communications, enforced through public action and stakeholder‑led claims. PFAS The regulatory and litigation landscape around PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) is evolving
rapidly. In the EU, recent reforms have introduced upcoming PFAS restrictions for certain products (such as toys and food packaging), and the proposal for a near-universal EU-level PFAS restriction remains under consideration. A few EU member states have moved ahead with national measures rather than wait- ing for EU-wide action. In the USA, state-level regu - lation is intensifying in parallel with PFAS mass tort litigation. Companies across a wide range of sectors – from consumer products and textiles to electronics and food packaging – are facing increasing pressure to identify and eliminate PFAS from products and sup - ply chains, with significant liability exposure arising from both legacy contamination and ongoing use. The Move Towards Digital Compliance Requirements for product information and customs procedures are becoming increasingly digitised. One example is the EU’s new framework for Digital Product Passports (DPP) to electronically register, process and share certain product-related information amongst supply chain businesses, authorities and consumers. This will be complemented by the EU Customs Data Hub, a single EU-wide system replacing approximate - ly 111 national IT systems currently used by member states. Described as one of the largest digital data collections in Europe, the Data Hub is intended to support more targeted, intelligence-led enforcement through data analytics and AI, while providing a com - prehensive overview of trade flows and supply chains. It will also introduce new reporting channels, allowing authorities, businesses and consumers to flag goods that fail to comply with EU legislation applied by cus - toms authorities. Beyond regulatory compliance systems, companies are also increasingly deploying digital solutions and AI applications within their own internal processes – from product design and quality assurance to supply chain management. The associated risks need to be under - stood and mitigated to reduce potential liability, espe - cially where these tools inform high-impact decisions affecting product safety or regulatory compliance. Continued Drive for Increased Enforcement Enforcement of product safety rules remains uneven globally, but the overall direction of travel – particularly in Europe – is towards significantly stronger and more
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