Customs controls in free-trade zones worldwide must be tightened as smugglers are exploiting the easier movement of goods to shift counterfeit items, a conference on combating intellectual piracy was told on Monday.
Smuggling of fake goods through these zones is a growing problem because of the mushrooming of free trade enclaves, said Richard Heath, the global anti-counterfeiting counsel at consumer goods giant Unilever.
Customs controls in free-trade zones are currently governed by the Kyoto Convention, which sets down rules and procedures for the entry and exit of goods, he said in a keynote speech to the Global Forum on Intellectual Property being held in Singapore.
”At the moment, they are minimal and the controls are not that strong. The problem is that the counterfeiters are exploiting it, they bring goods in and send them back out again with the minimum degree of control,” Heath said after his address.
Counterfeiters use exemptions in the zones to hide the origin and property of the goods, as well as the quality and quantity, purpose and destination of the items.
Heath said the World Customs Organisation was working on an amendment to the Kyoto Convention that would tighten customs regulations in free-trade zones without hampering free trade.
The amendments would involve applying national laws and regional regulations to goods passing through free-trade zones.
”The counterfeiters exploit the relative lack of controls and as a result it is a growing problem and it is a significant one,” he said, adding that he counted around 629 free-trade zones in 77 countries.
”But it is not a problem that can’t be solved. We’re not saying we’re gonna hold up free trade, but you need slightly more controls than you got at the moment.
”There is no reason in our view why customs regulations in free-trade zones should not be exactly the same as the country in which they sit because the customs procedures outside the free-trade zone in a given country are quite strong and they are well laid down.”
Heath also said online auctions are increasingly being used by counterfeiters to peddle fake goods.
”It’s certainly a big threat. One of the reasons why the counterfeiting problem has changed is because the internet has evolved to being a mainstream trading system all over the world,” he said.
”It has made it harder to police because again, customs procedures and customs controls haven’t evolved quickly enough to keep up with the internet.”
David Llwelyn, director of the IP Academy of Singapore which organised the forum, agreed selling counterfeits online is a significant problem and vigilance is key to fighting it.
”That’s definitely a big problem. It’s certainly a significant issue for brand owners,” he said. – Sapa-AFP