With the new EU Market Surveillance Regulation coming into effect, has your Economic Operator been designated?

Recently, eBay issued an announcement requiring sellers to strictly follow the EU Market Supervision Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, starting from July 16, 2021, when products with the "CE" mark are sold to the EU region, they need to have an "Economic Operator" in the EU, and the name and contact information of the EU Ecomic Operator need to be listed on the product or product packaging with the "CE" mark.

Prior to this, other cross-border e-commerce platforms have also issued similar announcements. So what is the "CE" mark? To expand the European market, is the "CE" mark standard? What is an "Economic Operator"? Maybe there are a lot of question marks in everyone's mind. Today, I will explain the past and present lives of the "CE Marking" and "Economic Operator" for you.

1. What is CE marking?

CE 's "true body" is the symbol This mark is proof that the manufacturer's product complies with EU laws and safety standards.

In the EU market, "CE" certification is the mandatory basic product safety regulation of the EU, which is the integration of unified regulations carried out by EU regulatory agencies to eliminate economic and trade barriers between many EU member states and facilitate the free circulation of goods in the markets of EU member states. The "CE" mark is affixed to the product to indicate that the product meets the basic requirements of the EU Directive on New Methods of Technical Harmonization and Standardization and can circulate freely among EU member states. In short, CE certification is the "passport" to the EU market.

2. What products does CE certification apply to?

According to the EU Directive "New Methods of Technical Harmonization and Standardization", the following products are within the scope of CE certification:
Correspondingly, according to the EU's Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, all products within the scope of CE certification are required to designate Ecomic Operators, including:
· Construction products
· Personal Protection
· Equipment and appliances
· Burn gaseous fuel
· Products that comply with the noise emission policy for outdoor machinery and equipment
· toy
· Products that meet the requirements of eco-design
· Products in which the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment is restricted
· Pyrotechnic items
· Leisure boats and private boats
· Simple pressure vessel
· Products that comply with the Electromagnetic Compatibility Policy
· Non-automatic weighing instruments
· Measuring instruments
· Equipment and protection systems for use in potentially explosive atmospheres
· Products that comply with the low-pressure policy
· Radio equipment
· Pressure equipment

3. What is an EU Ecomic Operator?

The EU Ecomic Operator is the manufacturer's authorized representative within the EU to handle the agreed matters, in particular market supervision matters. Products bearing the "CE" mark imported from outside the European Union must clearly print the name and address of the manufacturer's Economic Operator on the packaging, label and instruction manual.

4. Who can be the EU Economic Operator?

The EU Economic Operator is not available to anyone, but has strict regulations. Currently, according to the EU Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, the following four categories of entities can act as EU Ecomic Operators:
· Manufacturers in the European Union;
· Importers within the EU (if the manufacturer is not in the EU);
· authorized representative within the European Union appointed in writing by the manufacturer;
· (if none of the above entities exist) is a fulfillment service provider established in the EU to handle the product. ("Fulfillment Service Provider" means a entity that provides at least two of the following services but does not own the relevant products: warehousing, packaging, shipping, and delivery (other than postal and small parcel delivery services)).

5. What are the main responsibilities of the EU Economic Operator?

The Economic Operator is not just a "decoration" that provides a contact information to get things done, but a responsible person who needs to assume specific responsibilities, which mainly include the following aspects:
· Verification of the declaration of conformity (DoC) (or declaration of performance (DoP) of the construction product) as well as technical documentation.
· Cooperate with the requirements of the market supervision department, provide all necessary information/documents in the language prescribed by the market supervision department to prove that the product complies with the relevant regulations.
· When there is a risk to the product, inform the market supervision department in a timely manner.
· Work with market regulators to ensure that the necessary corrective actions are taken immediately after the violation occurs.

6. What preparations should cross-border e-commerce sellers make?

For the majority of sellers, at this stage, we need to be prepared in the following aspects:
· Confirm whether the product has relevant compliance marks, such as CE safety certification marks;
· Confirm that the product has relevant documents, such as declarations of conformity to standards, product usage instructions and safety information;
· Promptly designate a compliant Economic Operator and submit economic Operator application information in accordance with relevant regulatory guidelines; After the application of the Economic Operator is approved, the basic information and contact information of the product or product packaging are listed in a timely manner.

With just over two months left before the official implementation of the EU Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, sellers must seize the time to apply for the EU Ecomic Operator in a timely manner to lay a good foundation for expanding the European market!