US Customs and Border Protection registers 25% more confiscations

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According to the recently published U.S. CBP (Customs and Border Protection) report, American border agents performed nearly 29,000 confiscations of counterfeit products in the past year, 25% more than in 2014.

With approximately 29,000 confiscations, US customs authorities were able to take counterfeits with a total value of more than 1.3 billion US dollars (1.2 billion euro) out of circulation in 2015. The total value of the secured counterfeits increased from 2014 by some 10%, according to the joint report by the CPB and HSI (Homeland Security Investigations).

The relatively small increase in the financial value of the confiscated goods in relation to the dramatically rising number of confiscations is reportedly due to the greater fragmentation of shipments: While the number of small mail shipments nearly doubled in the previous year (48%), the number of large container shipments fell by approximately 10%.

“CBP’s frontline interdictions, steadfast targeting, and close collaboration with ICE and other law enforcement agencies produced a record number of seizures of counterfeit and pirated goods,“ commented Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Richard Gil Kerlikowske in reference to last year’s report. “The large increase in the number of IPR seizures reflects the hard work and dedication of our people across the country every day.”

Roughly half of all goods confiscated by the US customs authorities in 2015 were clothing or accessories (22%), shoes (10%) or entertainment and household electronics (18%). As in the previous year, the overwhelming majority (87%) of all counterfeits confiscated in the US originated in China or Hong Kong.

 

Sources: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, WorldTrademakReview

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