Counterfeit Goods Harm Manufacturers and Consumers
When almost anything can be ordered online, how do you know if the product you’re buying is legitimate? Counterfeit goods are increasingly prevalent, and third-party e-commerce sites are making it easier than ever for counterfeiters to distribute inauthentic products.
To help combat this, the National Association of Manufacturers submitted comments last week to the Department of Commerce, proposing solutions to this counterfeit goods problem that is detrimental to manufacturers and customers alike. These comments reflect the rising tide of counterfeit products available, from auto parts to toys, from medicines to electronics and more.
These sales don’t just hurt businesses or inconvenience customers. Fake products can be a health and safety hazard. For example, prescription drugs are commonly counterfeited—with potentially severe consequences.
“First and foremost, we are always concerned about patient safety and the harmful effects that illegitimate products have,” Eli Lilly Director of Global Public Policy Tim McGuire said. “There is significant risk associated with putting medications in your body that haven’t gone through the rigorous regulatory review and approval processes that include safety testing and quality inspections.”
Even if a manufacturer is aware that counterfeit products are being distributed, getting those products removed from websites and working to communicate to customers that they have purchased fake goods is no small task. The process of identifying counterfeit sellers requires constant monitoring of search engines, e-commerce sites and other methods of distribution, and the onus is on the maker rather than the retailer.
“The big challenge is that counterfeiters always come back, and there isn’t a good structure in place to permanently prevent them from operating,” said Whirlpool Corp. Legal Counsel Nathan Davis. “You take down a listing, they put up a new listing. You shut down one website, they launch another website. The existing consequences are not sufficient to stop them.”
And for small- and medium-sized companies, the resources needed to stop the sale of counterfeit products can be prohibitive. Napoleon gas grills are an example: Accessories to go with these are often counterfeited and marketed as acceptable for use with Napoleon’s products. Consumers then think the counterfeit product is covered by Napoleon’s warranty.
“We’re essentially underwriting counterfeit products,” Napoleon Technical Support Manager Dana Moroz said. “The credibility of our brand name is affected, and we end up having to warrant inferior products to sustain our name. To the consumer, it’s all a Napoleon product.”
The NAM’s public comments provide next steps for combating counterfeiting, including recommendations for the U.S. government, for brand owners, and for online marketplaces and websites.
“Winning the fight against counterfeiters requires everybody—not just manufacturers, but e-commerce platforms and search engines, customs agents and consumer safety advocates—to get serious,” said NAM Director of International Business Policy Ryan Ong. “Stopping the flow of these products means not just legal and policy changes, but smarter enforcement priorities, better coordination and information sharing and a serious commitment by all parties to do their part.”
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Manufacturers Unveil Competitiveness Agenda Ahead of Midterm Elections
“Competing to Win” offers a path for bringing the country together around policies, shared values and a unified purpose
Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the midterm elections, the National Association of Manufacturers released its policy roadmap, “Competing to Win,” a comprehensive blueprint featuring immediate solutions for bolstering manufacturers’ competitiveness. It is also a roadmap for policymakers on the laws and regulations needed to strengthen the manufacturing industry in the months and years ahead.
With the country facing rising prices, snarled supply chains and geopolitical turmoil, manufacturers are outlining an actionable competitiveness agenda that Americans across the political spectrum can support. “Competing to Win” includes the policies manufacturers in America will need in place to continue driving the country forward.
“‘Competing to Win’ offers a path for bringing our country together around policies, shared values and a unified purpose,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “The NAM is putting forward a plan filled with ideas that policymakers could pursue immediately, including solutions to urgent problems, such as energy security, immigration reform, supply chain disruptions, the ongoing workforce shortage and more. Manufacturers have shown incredible resilience through difficult times, employing more workers now than before the pandemic, but continued resilience is not guaranteed without the policies that are critical to the state of manufacturing in America.”
The NAM and its members will leverage “Competing to Win” to shape policy debates ahead of the midterm elections, in the remainder of the 117th Congress and at the start of the 118th Congress—including in direct engagement with lawmakers, for grassroots activity, across traditional and digital media and through events in key states and districts as we did following the initial rollout of the roadmap in 2016.
The document focuses on 12 areas of action, and all policies are rooted in the values that have made America exceptional and keep manufacturing strong: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty and equal opportunity.
Learn more about how manufacturers are leading and about the industry’s competitiveness agenda at nam.org/competing-to-win.
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The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12.8 million men and women, contributes $2.77 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 58% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org
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