The politics around counterfeit goods

We see, we lust, we save... but what if I tell you that you could own that Comme des Garcon Play t-shirt for just a tenner? Or that new Gucci bag you DEFINITELY need for thirty pounds, or the classic red soled Louis Vuitton heels for forty? Sounds too good to be true, but it isn't! There is however, strings attached; strings attached to the economy, to the environment, to health and safety regulations, to human rights, to brand's images, to Brexit.

The counterfeit business has repeatedly caused Britain time and money in the fight against fake goods being traded in the UK, tensions sky rocketing as Brexit negotiations take heed. The "prospect of a £1.7bn fine"[1] looms on the horizon reported The Guardian. Olaf (Office Européen de Lutte Antifraude) has named Britain liable for their leniency with border control restrictions, despite the prime minister's spokesman rejecting these claims. Bruno Collin [at the French National Directorate of Intelligence and Customs Investigation] stated “UK authorities are not interested at all in cooperating in this field, probably because the phenomenon does not directly affect them.” [2]... meow!

The frontline of this battle however is not politicians arguing about who owes who what and when (sounds like the conversations you have with your friends after those night out taxis...), the frontline is the border control who Alistair Carmichael, a Liberal Democrat MP, has quite abruptly placed the entirety of blame onto: “The UK border force is asleep at the wheel and it’s going to cost the taxpayer billions.” [3]. In Vogue'a June 2017 article titled 'Forging Ahead' Ellie Plithers visits Hounslow airport's Courier Facilities Ltd to sample what occurs day-to-day in the fight against counterfeit goods. He makes it sound a breeze to spot counterfeit items: “This has come from Mumbai, the release note is Air India but there’s not a lot of information about where it’s going. Why would a company or individual in India be selling 50 Hugo Boss wallets in the UK?”, but with the increase of technology companies in the Middle East are able to forge logos to a higher quality making it more difficult for many border control officers to stop and seize.

Venturing outside of the UK, Taobao, a well known online company who trade in Asia have recently been blacklisted due to the sales of counterfeit items. Taobao's parent company Alibaba Group have stated that this has been "politically motivated" due to the rising tensions between the US and Beijing. “In light of all this its clear that no matter how much action we take and progress we make, the USTR is not actually interested in seeing tangible results.” Alibaba Group President, Michael Evans spoke out [5].

This is a poster created with my counterfeit group, outlining the key facts of the counterfeit business.

[1]: Mason R. and Rankin J. (2017 March 8th). Prospect of £1.7bn fine looms large over PM's talk with EU leaders. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/prospect-of-17bn-fine-looms-large-over-pms-talks-with-eu-leaders

[2]: Culbertson A. (2017 March 9th). Britain is facing EU fines of whopping £2bn by the EU... but why? Retrieved from https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/776488/Britain-European-Union-fine-2billion-China-import-fraud

[3]: Gregory J. (N.D.) British border force accused of poor response on counterfeit goods. Retrieved from https://joelsonlaw.com/british-border-force-accused-poor-response-counterfeit-goods/

[4]: Pithers E. (2017 June 8th). Forging ahead. Retrieved from http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/fake-designer-goods-counterfeit-pieces

[5]: Yang Y. (2016 December 22nd). US puts Alibaba back on counterfeit blacklist. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/f0bd1896-c7ed-11e6-8f29-9445cac8966f