Fighting the fakers

The EU is one of the major players in the rapidly growing international trade. Our customs have a dual challenge to tackle. The competitiveness of our businesses demands smooth and rapid controls, but the safety and security of our citizens also need effective controls. Counterfeiting is an illegal offence, the violation of intellectual property rights (IPR).

But it is also an economic and fiscal offence, as it undermines the customs and tax revenues of the EU and its member states, eats into the profits of the manufacturers of the original products and threatens jobs. Furthermore fake medicines, foodstuffs, cosmetics, toys and car parts endanger the safety, the health and even the lives of our citizens.

Customs should prevent counterfeited articles and devices of terrorism from entering the internal market. But combating counterfeiting should start with cutting off the production of fake goods, rolling back their distribution and the introduction of export control in the countries of origin.

Consequently, customs cooperation with third countries is of paramount importance. China needs our special attention as it is the largest source of our imports. But another reason is that, according to 2007 statistics, China remains the main source of counterfeited goods, being the country of origin of more than 60 per cent of all fake articles seized at EU external borders.

Since the signing of the EU-China customs cooperation agreement and my first visit to China in 2005, China has been making serious efforts to adapt its legislation to protect IPR and to introduce export controls. However, in my view, more concrete action needs to be undertaken in order to achieve visible results. The strengthening of customs cooperation between the EU and China, including the exchange of information on identified risks, should help decrease the volume of counterfeited goods leaving China.

We have agreed to develop an ambitious IPR action plan for customs enforcement, which is to be signed at the EU-China summit in early December 2008. This action plan would include specific commitments such as an analysis of the flow of counterfeited goods between China and the EU, the creation of networks of customs specialists at key customs posts and the development of partnerships with private sectors in China and the EU.

Besides IPR protection, customs cooperation also aims to ensure supply chain security. In September 2006, a pilot project involving the ports of Shenzhen, Rotterdam and Felixstowe was launched in order to improve the security of the supply chain while facilitating legitimate trade.

This project involves the exchange of information between customs prior to the arrival/departure of shipments, in order to allow better targeting of illicit goods, including counterfeited and other dangerous products. It also involves the implementation of equivalent security measures on both sides in order to maximise the benefits of export controls and thereby reduce those required on import. In the future, it is envisaged to expand the pilot project to ports in other member states and probably also to Hong Kong. I have considerable expectations for this project and I hope that it will work on a larger scale in the future.

The EU is also intensifying cooperation with China in the fight against illegal trade in drug precursors. These are chemical substances used for the production of medicines, perfumes, etc., but are frequently diverted from legitimate distribution with a view to manufacturing illicit drugs, such as ecstasy or amphetamines.

China is known to be a major source of chemicals, amongst which drug precursors also figure. A bilateral agreement is being finalised in order to reduce the illicit supply of precursors, thereby helping to cut down synthetic drug production in the EU.

To conclude, overall EU-China trade relations and customs cooperation are developing very dynamically. However, expectations are high: European industry seeks more business opportunities and protection of IPR in China while our citizens demand safe and high quality products for a reasonable price.

We need to build on the progress made in recent years in the customs field with China and to rigorously pursue the cooperation in order to provide the combination of enhanced security and smooth trade. 

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