At the beginning of April, Federal Finance Minister Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble and the President of the General Directorate of Customs, Uwe Schröder, presented the customs report for the year 2016. According to the data in the report, 2016 saw 21,000 confiscation cases, a decline of about 10% compared to 2015 (we reported), however there was a dramatic rise in the monetary value of the goods secured.
In total, German customs succeeded in securing counterfeit goods worth approximately 180 million euros in 2016, almost 50 million euros more than in 2015. Given the overall figures, customs officials have concluded that the significant increase indicates a rise in the counterfeiting of expensive brand products.
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The role of the internet as a distribution channel for counterfeit brand products is still viewed critically: “With hardly any risks at all, the online trade of counterfeits is increasingly filling the bank accounts of organised crime organisations and causing damage to consumers, brand manufacturers and society on an enormous scale,” explains Dr. Alexander Dröge, head of legal and consumer policy at Markenverband e.V.
Martin Ruppmann, Managing Director of the cosmetics association VKE, sees an acute need for action from the EU now. “Within the framework of the development of a digital single market strategy, European legislators are now called upon to take on internet platforms and ensure tougher consumer protection measures.”
As was the case in the previous years, the majority of all counterfeits confiscated by German customs originated in Asia, with China topping the list with around 52%, followed by Hong Kong with about 15%.
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