PRESS RELEASE

Fastener Quality Act is still a restraint of trade on metric fastener importers

From: Bonnie G. Carter
Date: 3/22/98

Comments

As coordinator for Metric Importers of North America (MINA), I wish to bring to your attention additional problems with the Fastener Quality Act.

Many segments of the fastener industry have sought and received relief from the original requirements of the Act.Manufacturers will be allowed to use the results from the certification of the original heat of steel. Distributors of U.S. fasteners will not be required to actually have certifications in hand. However, metric importers are still under the full burden of the Act. We cannot import our goods without all certifications with the goods.

We believe one reason the Fastener Quality Act (FQA) places an undue burden on importers of metric fasteners compared to other wholesalers is as follows. U. S. fasteners are produced overseas strictly for the U. S. market. Nobody else uses them. Therefore, in order to sell their product in the only market available, the foreign manufacturers of U. S. fasteners are more willing to comply with whatever requirements are imposed upon them by this market. Most of the product being made overseas are in bulk quantities and represent only a few of the most common items. They lend themselves to large lots with one production run, one test procedure and one certification. The unusual or smaller-quantity items are made domestically.

Metric fasteners are the opposite. They are manufactured for sale worldwide, with the U. S. being only a secondary market. They are made to many recognized international standards (DIN, ISO, AFNOR, JIS, etc.) not the standards of just one country -the United States. The companies who do manufacture metric in the U. S. make either large runs of a limited item or small lots of specials upon request and usually are far more expensive than foreign sources. Most of the less common items are made only overseas. It is not economical for European and other foreign manufacturers to change their well-proven quality systems and provide paperwork on slower-moving, small-quantity items just for the secondary American market. They would rather give up the sale or let us worry about the problem of meeting the testing and paperwork regulations.

The market for metric fasteners is still slowly evolving. It is not reasonable to purchase large volumes of many items since there is not sufficient demand. Most metric importers in the U. S. are importing many small lots on a frequent basis. The FQA requires certifications to travel with all imported lots of material, regardless of size. Suppliers of domestic fasteners have been granted a waiver of this requirement. This will be a paperwork burden for both the foreign supplier and the U. S. importer.

The bottom line is that the choice of suppliers for common metric fasteners will be limited by the law, with domestic manufacturers having a clear edge, while thousands of less popular, small volume items, which are critically necessary for repair and production of metric machinery in the U. S., will become unavailable or exorbitantly expensive. As a NATO country, we will have greater difficulty in meeting NATO metrication requirements. It could limit our ability to manufacture items for export, as U. S. manufacturers will have greater difficulty securing parts and will have to pay much higher prices for the same metric items than their foreign competitors can buy without the constraints of FQA.

The Fastener Quality Act clearly places a restraint of trade on metric importers, endangers the metrication act and cannot avoid being inflationary.

Our group represents a significant volume of the metric fasteners introduced into commerce. We are master importers and distributors to industry. Many of us sell direct to the end-user market. In it's current form, the Fastener Quality Act will severely impact our ability to import and distribute our products.

Submitted by: Bonnie G. Carter Coordinator for MINA a nationwide group of 38 companies importing metric fasteners