Furniture distributors to label non-EU imports showing origin of goods

26th October 2009 | imports | Furniture retailers and distributors who import furniture from outside the EU could be forced to pay to label each and every item they sell telling consumers where the product has been produced.

The European Commission plan, which applies to a host of consumers goods including furniture and textiles, is a resurrected proposal from four years ago, which was rejected at the time by EU states.

But the commission wants to revive the idea and insist that products, including furniture, imported from any country outside the EU's 27 member states should carry a 'made in...' label telling consumers the provenance of the item they are purchasing.

The plan is likely to add both an additional cost and bureaucratic burden to furniture importers and retailers, and will meet stiff opposition because many products are part produced in a variety of locations, making it difficult to establish a precise country of origin.