Responsibility for a product defect that results in injury lies with all the sellers of the product within the distribution chain. Generally, given regulations that manufacturers must comply with, a product is expected to meet the ordinary expectations of the consumer. When a product does not meet these expectations, manufacturers and sellers are vulnerable to legal action from consumers.

A product can be found liable by contract breach or by law. Where the issue of product liability cannot be answered by the contract or the governing laws, private international law must be deferred to in order to fill in the gaps.

Product liability tort covers lawsuits to settle claims of injury or dispute due to negligence or strict liability on the part of the manufacturer or those responsible for the product in question.

As a result, product liability standards have steadily increased in most parts of the world including Europe, Asia and North America.

As with other aspects of both public and private international law, there is a need to govern or harmonize disparate national laws and proceedings more uniformly with respect to product liability.

This includes evidentiary standards, uniform reward of damages and punitive actions.

Many governments have passed legislation to limit the occurrence of product liability. The following examples provide a brief description of some of the legislative measures implemented by various governments around the world.

1. U.S.

Most product liability laws are enacted at the state level and while they vary from state to state with regard to standards of proof, since the 1960s most are based on strict liability as opposed to proving the manufacturer’s negligence.

Under the theory of strict liability, the manufacturer, regardless of whether or not they caused the defect, is liable for a defective product and must pay or compensate the injured parties. There is no manufacturer liability cap to date.

2. EU

As of 1977, the EU also began to move toward the theory of strict liability to reinforce its commitment to a common market where all members have common laws. The 1981 preamble to the Treaty of the European Union states, “liability without fault on the part of the producer is the sole means of adequately solving the problem, peculiar to our age of increasing technicality, of a fair apportionment of the risks inherent in modern technological production”.

Recent EU Court of Justice rulings regarding risk in the absence of proof of physical injury with regards to cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators that belong to a defective series will impact product liability proceedings moving forward.

Signed in 1985 and implemented in 1988, the Product Liability Directive holds producers and manufacturers responsible for damages caused by product defects.

The legislation only applies to products put on the market from the time the directive was enacted. The Directive provides a 10 year statute, and caps manufacturer compensation (per defect) at EUR 70 million.

3. Australia

Replacing the common law principles of tort that had governed compensation due to loss or injury from product defects, Australia’s product liability law enacted in 1992, closely resembles the EU directive of strict liability.

There is a 20-year statute of limitation in the Australian law as well as directives for representative action to be taken by the Trade Practices Commission on behalf of consumers.

Interested in a broader look at the topic that also includes service development? Then the FITTskills Products & Services for a Global Market course is for you!

4. Taiwan

In 1994, Taiwan imposed a strict liability law to replace the existing negligence-based laws that required injured parties to prove the manufacturer was at fault or negligent.

5. Japan

Going into effect January 1, 1995, Japan’s Product Liability Law holds a manufacturer (which also includes the processor and importer) responsible for property damage or personal injury caused by a defect (here, defect means a lack of safety a product should normally provide) in a product.

Instead of strict liability, Japan’s legislation provides manufacturers with a defence on the grounds of not knowing about the defect when the product was sold. Japan also puts a claim limit of 3 years from the time of injury for injured parties to seek compensation. Similarly, manufacturers cannot be held responsible if it has been more than ten years since the product was delivered.

6. China

Quality legislation enacted in China’s 1993 Product Quality Control Law holds manufacturers, producers and importers responsible to uphold national and international standards for products and their packaging, and to see that unreasonable danger is not posed to people or property. If found liable, manufacturers are responsible for damages or injuries to people and property.

Like Japanese laws, China’s claims have time limitations and are defensible if the manufacturer did not put the product on the market, did not know about the defect at the time due to scientific or technical limitations or the defect was not present when the product was put on the market.

A major amendment of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests entered into effect in March 2014—the first major development in the product liability regime since the implementation of the Law in 1994.

The Law puts in place new consumer-friendly provisions, reversing the burden on the consumer to prove non-conformity with quality warranties where such non-conformity is discovered within six months of receipt of the goods or services and conferring a right of return within seven days of consumers buying goods at a distance.

7. Hong Kong

The only product safety law in Hong Kong is the Toys and Children’s Product Safety Ordinance (1993), which states that reasonable safety is required for all toys manufactured, imported or supplied.

Manufacturers, importers and suppliers must ensure that general safety requirements are met according to one of a number of international toy standards (for example, the International Committee of Toy Industries’ Voluntary Toy Safety Standard).

While defensible, if found liable, enforcement and penalties start at a HKD 100,000 fine and a year in prison and grow with each subsequent offence.

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I was drawn to the new opportunities available to qualified international business professionals who are capable of doing business in developing countries.

I had imagined a new world of potential for Canadians resulting from the ratification of free trade agreements like NAFTA, the rise of China in global economics, trade in the Americas, and an increased demand for petroleum products and services from Alberta in the United States and overseas.

Navigating the complexities of international trade in this new world sounded like a rewarding and lucrative endeavor for those willing to accept a less standard career path, compared to a more easily definable career in a discipline like finance or accounting.

Seeing the world anew

Prior to earning my degree, I completed five terms abroad (Mainland China, Taiwan, Peru, Spain, and the Amazon) which were organized by the University’s Study Abroad Centre and financed mostly via University scholarships, government research grants, and corporate donations provided from Shell Canada.

These international academic experiences helped me establish a cultural understanding of Asia and Latin America, by providing me with firsthand experience working in those geographies in the local language.

Much of the work had to be done with stakeholders who weren’t comfortable enough to work in English. This allowed me the opportunity to strengthen my Spanish and Mandarin communication skills, which had been previously developed through university courses and travel.

Through hard work and dedication, I was awarded six scholarships during my academic career, including the Shell Experimental Energy Learning Scholarship, and achieved a 3.94 out of 4 average GPA for my five Strategy and Global Management (SGMA) courses.

The first steps into the world of international business

After university, I took a position with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation International (CMHC) as an international trade consultant.

I helped coordinate international finance projects in Alaska and Texas, while working with industry and government to develop international business strategies to help Canadian clients export their goods.

I then accepted a new challenge with the American oilfield services and supply giant National Oilwell Varco (NOV) in their international employee development program. During the program. These three month projects spanned Alberta, Texas, and Beijing, introducing me to the company’s operations in China and Houston.

Throughout the program I was required to use my Chinese language skills, and upon completion I was offered a two year expatriate assignment in China with NOV.  This required me to turn down a similar opportunity in Houston. I was a little apprehensive at first, to say the least.

The anxiety of moving halfway around the world

I remember feeling equally excited and nervous to leave behind my entire life in North America and move to the opposite side of the world, to a country where I knew nobody.

In the end, I decided that the adventure, career opportunities, and perspective gained from such an assignment were worth the risk, and I took it.

In China, I worked out of the company’s Beijing office in a series of international business development and manufacturing projects. I was responsible for communicating and developing the company’s market intelligence platform towards the relatively new manufacturing base for offshore drilling equipment being built in Chinese shipyards.

This required me to constantly set up meetings, make proposals, and conduct sales calls to clients and manufacturing facilities on site, both in English and Chinese. The field experience was extremely challenging, but rewarding.

Due to the nature of the assignment, I would sometimes spend weeks by myself out in the industrial sectors of China’s manufacturing districts without seeing another foreigner for more than a few minutes.

This really helped solidify my knowledge of Chinese work culture, as well as the challenges of doing business in China, which I strongly believe is only achieved from this type of firsthand experience.

Working in China in this environment requires an immense amount of patience and a delicate balance of cultural awareness and persistence. Also, speaking at least some Mandarin is a must.

Upon completion of the assignment, I was moved full time to the division’s corporate office in Houston. By this time I was ready to return to North America, and was excited about setting up shop in the U.S.

I often find myself missing some of the excitement involved with expatriate life, but I am happy to be back.

Taking a legal perspective on international trade

In my new Houston role with NOV, I settled into a technical marketing and inside sales position.

I was responsible for delivering technical sales support for NOV sales managers abroad, expanding a new market intelligence platform for drilling technology products in developing markets, and reviewing NOV trademark requirements for product renewals and customer compliance.

This is when I was first introduced to the NOV legal team and developed my interest in the legal side of international business.

I later took a part time role working as a research assistant at the South Texas College of Law for Professor Cherie Taylor, where I aspire to one day earn my Juris Doctorate degree, specializing in international trade & transactional law.

I want to specialize in international law because I believe that the global nature of the energy industry will continue to grow along with increased energy demand from China and low cost production of hydrocarbons in the U.S. due to shale drilling technologies.

I enjoy dealing with the complex legal requirements and FCPA regulations associated with these international transactions and contracts.

I’ve also always been interested in the FITTskills courses and I plan on applying for my Certified International Trade Professional (CITP) designation later this year.

So far, I have completed FITT’s International Market Entry Strategies, International Trade Finance, Global Supply Chain Management, Global Business Environment, International Trade Research, and Legal Aspects of International Trade courses.

My favourite courses were International Trade Finance and Legal Aspects of International Trade.

In May 2015, I accepted a consulting contract in petrochemical export sales with the Canadian petrochemical brokerage Prochem International Corporation, focusing on the export of plastics resins overseas.

Now I spend my time traveling between my home in Houston, and where I grew up in Calgary. Prochem International Corp strongly supports my professional ambitions to study international trade and transactional law, and I look forward to one day assisting the team from a legal perspective for their future export transactions.

I’ve been very fortunate in my career to have worked with some fascinating people all over the world and it would not have been possible without the help of a few amazing mentors along the way. I’ve worked very hard throughout my career for the chances that I have been awarded, but I’ve also had some amazing opportunities offered to me throughout my journey from a select few who really believed in me.

Pursuing my international dreams has been a daunting endeavour filled with extreme moments of hopeful ambition, excitement, self reflection, loneliness, disappointment, and reward. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”

― William G.T. Shedd

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