Publisher: USA Today
The article enumerates the nine most counterfeited products in the USA. Topping the list are handbags and wallets which accounted for 40% of the total seized goods in 2013 and valued at approximately $700.2 million based on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). Others in the list are optical media, labels/tags, computers/accessories, footwear, pharmaceuticals/personal care, wearing apparel/accessories, consumer electronics/parts and watches/jewelry. According to the data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the value of counterfeit goods seized rose from $1.2 billion in 2012 to $1.7 billion in 2013, which is an increase of 38.1%. (Frohlich et al., 2014). Furthermore, the CBP stated that most of the counterfeited products are luxury items because they are more valuable. The report also reveals that around $1.2 billion of the imitations that were confiscated by U.S. law enforcement agencies originated from China. The CBP points out that counterfeited goods now command a higher price because of the improved quality. The CBP goes on further to say that the increase in the seizures is attributable to its joint efforts with the China customs. Moreover, they are constantly improving their process of detecting fake goods.
The article summarized above is directly related to the topic in Chapter 11, “Trafficking in Counterfeit Products”. In the same manner that the article above mentioned China as a major source of counterfeit products, the topic on counterfeit products in Chapter 11 also mentions China as a source of counterfeit products, particularly computer networking equipment. Both the article and Chapter 11 affirm that the advent of outsourcing has contributed to the increase of counterfeit goods. Because of the cheap labor in China, most companies outsource the manufacturing of their products there. This in turn, makes it easy for some Chinese manufacturing firms to make imitations of the branded products.
References
Frohlich, T. C., Hess, A. E., & Calio, V. (2014, March 29). 9 Most counterfeited products in the USA. Retrieved from usatoday.com: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/03/29/24-7-wall-st-counterfeited-products/7023233/
