Chairman Rush, Ranking Member Whitfield, and Members of the Subcommittee, my name is Ami Gadhia, Policy Counsel with Consumers Union, he non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports® magazine. We appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of the Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2010. I offer my testimony today on behalf of both CU and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

H.R. 4678 is necessary to ensure the fairness of our civil justice system and to ensure that consumers who are harmed by unsafe products can obtain redress no matter where the product is manufactured. It will also create a level playing field for all manufacturers – both domestic and foreign – by holding the responsible party accountable when consumers are injured.

CU and CFA have long fought for legislation and regulation that will result in safer products on our store shelves, and that will require importers of record to post a bond to ensure accountability for recalls and defective products. In the event that an unsafe product makes it into the marketplace, however, consumers should be able to pursue all remedies for the harm they suffer, whether the manufacturer of the unsafe product is a foreign company or a domestic one. This legislation will help consumers to pursue remedies against foreign manufacturers and producers of unsafe products.