American President Donald Trump signed an executive order on 31 Jan, targeting both the sellers of counterfeit goods and the e-commerce platforms they pass through, as his administration seeks to drastically reduce the number of counterfeit goods entering the US.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been instructed to look at “appropriate measures, consistent with applicable law” to ensure large e-commerce platforms are not trading in counterfeit goods.
The order also seeks the identification of e-commerce companies selling a large volume of counterfeit goods, and then their addition to a list of offending companies. Particular attention will be given to repeat offenders, who will be subject to more intense scrutiny.
Amazon regularly features products from third-party sellers, making the legitimacy of the products on sale sometimes hard to verify. Moreover, a small proportion of these sellers are actively selling counterfeit goods.
The US Postal Services is expected to work with the DHS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to implement the new rules.
“President Trump has ensured that intellectual property protection and enforcement against pirated and counterfeit goods are a priority in America’s trade relationships,” said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, via a statement issued immediately after the order was given.
“The trafficking of counterfeit and pirated goods is a scourge that causes significant harm to our workers, consumers, intellectual property owners, and economy, [and] the federal government and industry partners are working together to combat illicit trade,” he continued.
