19,522 shipments with IPR violations
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Port of Louisville recently seized two shipments containing 3,301 pieces of counterfeit designer rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. The items were deemed to be inauthentic by CBP’s centres of excellence and expertise, the agency’s trade experts, and if genuine, would have had a combined manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of over USD 9.58 million.
The illicit trafficking of counterfeit goods offers criminals a complementary source of income and a way through which they can launder money. Additionally, monies received from the sale of counterfeit products can be channelled towards the further production of fake goods or other illicit activities.
In FY/2023, CBP seized 19,522 shipments with intellectual property rights (IPR) violations for a total of nearly 23 million counterfeit items. If the seized products had been genuine, their total MSRP would have been valued at USD 2.4 billion. (cj)