International initiative aims to improve consumer product safety and strengthen competition

Brazil is among the countries supporting a new draft resolution on consumer product safety to be submitted in the next United Nations General Assembly. The proposal recognises that every product and service offered to the consumer must remain safe during its entire life cycle.

The document is the result of discussions from the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The resolution was endorsed during the 9th United Nations Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection, which took place from 7 to 11 July, in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr Gustavo Augusto Freitas, president of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), attended the event.

The resolution could be a milestone to build a more balanced international market, by aligning competition policies with effective consumer protection measures. In many countries there is no specific regulation on consumer product safety, leading to a scenario of unfair competition, in which companies subject to strict rules compete with imported products that follow different standards.

For President Freitas, the document consolidates a rapprochement between these two agendas. "The resolution should serve as a reference for strengthening public policies and international regulatory frameworks that unite the principles of antitrust enforcement and consumer protection, the two essential pillars of a fair and sustainable global market," he stated.

The proposal will be debated at the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly, in September 2025. The draft proposes principles to guide governments to establish laws, policies, and monitoring mechanisms aimed at consumer product safety, including items sold online, second-hand products, and items from the circular economy.

In addition, the document recommends that countries develop prevention measures, recall systems, reporting channels, and international co-operation to stop the circulation of dangerous products.

The initiative reinforces that protecting consumers and ensuring equal conditions for competition are goals that walk side by side. It also places Brazil among the countries actively working towards a safer and more balanced market on a global scale.