US lawmakers table bills to thwart counterfeit imports

Bipartisan bills have been introduced in both chambers of the US Congress that seek to curb imports of counterfeit and pirated goods by extending the powers of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The House and Senate bills – which are substantially similar in wording – change how CBP can share the packing and shipping information of suspected counterfeit products with intellectual property rights holders, transportation carriers, and e-commerce platforms.

The House version was introduced by Reps Blake Moore (R-UT) and Brad Schneider (D-IL), while the companion Senate text came from Sens Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH).

"This bill will unlock real-time intelligence sharing between CBP and the private sector that will help shut down routes exploited by counterfeit operations and cut off counterfeit flows before they reach American shores," said Rep Moore.

Under the bills, CBP would be allowed to share shipping labels and tracking numbers, sender and recipient addresses, invoices and manifests, outer packaging images, like courier tape, weight notations, and box markings, and container-level packaging information and data.

According to the text, that would allow customs to flag patterns of behaviours such as repeat senders across multiple shipments, 'drop addresses' used by organised counterfeiters, and common entry ports or air routes.

Giving an example, Moore said: "A counterfeit electronics shipment from Shenzhen repeatedly enters via the Port of Los Angeles, using the same fake return address and tracking patterns. With this bill, CBP can share these patterns with carriers like UPS, DHL, and FedEx to intercept future parcels earlier in the pipeline."

Various industry groups have already voiced support for the legislation, including the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP), American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council (AACC), Baby Safety Alliance (BSA), International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC), International Trademark Association (INTA), Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI), and Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT).

"Stopping counterfeits at the border demands a coordinated and collaborative approach," commented Travis Johnson, vice president of the IACC.

"This commonsense legislation enhances CBP’s ability to leverage private sector expertise and intelligence, and we applaud the sponsors for their efforts to protect consumers and legitimate businesses from the harms caused by those illicit imports."