Foreign trade security

Illicit global trade of counterfeit goods is national security threat

There is quite literally an army of pirates overseas that is plundering the intellectual property of American and European citizens and businesses. Last week, President Trump issued an executive memorandum about combating pirated goods that calls for a detailed study of counterfeit trafficking and how the United States can better defend its intellectual property. The White House order is one of many initiatives by the United States and European Union to secure our democracies and free markets from the onslaught of authoritarian corruption, kleptomania, and crime.

Who are the victims of this systematic thievery? A recent report by the Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development showed that innovators in the United States bear the brunt of the costs, as almost 25 percent of all seized goods have American intellectual property rights. France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Japan are under assault as well. Their total losses represent more than 50 percent of the total seizures of counterfeit goods. In many cases, foreign trade zones are key facilitators. The tidal wave of counterfeit and pirated goods, accounting for more than 3 percent of global trade in 2018 according to the report, comes from, you guessed it, China. In fact, China accounts for over half of total fake goods in the world and more than 75 percent if you include Hong Kong.