FTC neither with global trade nor protects US consumer

CIBJO releases Ethics Commission Special Report,

Focuses on impact and implications of revised FTC Guides

With fewer than five weeks to go to the opening of the 2018 CIBJO Congress in Bogotá, Colombia, on October 15, 2018, the fifth of the CIBJO commissions' Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Ethics Commission, headed by Tiffany C. Stevens, the report focuses exclusively on the newly revised Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries, released in July by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The report is co-authored by Ms. Stevens and Sara E. Yood.

Addressing comments that had been heard in the jewellery industry that the FTC Guides seem to disregard harmonisation efforts made by the international trade, Ms. Stevens and Ms. Yood note that the primary focus of the American agency is somewhat different.

"The FTC tries to harmonise its guidance with international standards when possible, but it must base its guidance on Section 5 of the FTC Act. In contrast, many international standards are developed through industry consensus-building processes that are based not on Section 5's standards for preventing deception and unfairness, but rather other considerations, such as facilitating trade and promoting international cooperation," they write.

"The FTC does not especially seek to harmonise global trade standards, but instead envisions its purpose as consumer protection in the United States," they continue. "Be that as it may, the FTC Guides definitely have a global impact; hence the decision to focus upon them in this year's Ethics Commission Special Report."

The other primary international standards of importance to the jewellery and gemstone sectors are those issued by ISO and the various CIBJO Blue Books. An in-depth discussion of these concepts and their potential for impact across the global market will be had at the 2018 CIBJO Congress in Bogotá, Colombia.