Good Transnational Organized Crime In East Asia And The Pacific Essay Example

The international market has welcomed globalization because of the economies of scale that it presents to companies. Lower material and production costs are among the benefits of globalization. However, with globalization comes the problem of production of counterfeit goods. Since the manufacturing process is often outsourced to different countries, the trade secrets no longer remain as secrets.
Despite the efforts of governments worldwide to curb counterfeiting of goods, there still remains a proliferation of fake goods. Manufacturers of counterfeit goods are able to evade enforcers through various ways. One way is by minimizing their inventories through the “just in time” production process. The less inventory they keep, the less possibility of being tracked down by the enforcers. Another way of evasion is by locating their production plants away from their warehouses of finished goods. The warehouses are also registered under a different company name.
A contributory factor in the slow prosecution of counterfeiters is the corruption in government. Some corrupt officials connive with the manufacturers of fake goods by falsifying the inspection of goods. There are even corrupt law enforcement officers who tip off upcoming raids to the manufacturers. Some accept bribes and allow illegal practices in the production process.
The shipping process is another aspect where fake manufacturers find ways to evade detection. The counterfeit goods are misdeclared and sometimes combined with authentic goods to avoid inspection. Another method to avoid detection of fake goods which manufacturers use is by covering the counterfeit brand name goods with unknown logos or nameless labels.
The route taken by most counterfeit goods is through the free trade zones of some countries. Since there is a lack of enforcement in these zones, fake goods could easily find its way to their destinations. Other ways of transporting fake goods are through direct mail to the consumers, usually through Internet purchases and through large quantity of merchandise in containerized shipments. Bulk and seaborne cargo is another method of shipping fake goods.
The proliferation of counterfeit goods will continue to be a problem unless authorities look seriously at the manner the manufacturer of these goods avoids detection. This illegal trade can only be solved if there is a collaboration among the governments of the international community.