Trends, Seizures and Trade RoutesCounterfeiting is a global problem. The diffusion of the counterfeits, the types of products replicated, the people managing this illicit activity, and the people paying the consequences…all talks about a global phenomenon and a global crime. Let us consider the geographical diffusion of counterfeiting and the range of products that can nowadays be counterfeited: they both know no limitation. There is no country in the World that is free from counterfeiting as there is no product in the market that cannot be replicated. The belief that certain counterfeits - as pharmaceutical products or spare parts - involve only some countries or economic areas finds no confirmation. A fast look at the seizures’ statistics published each year by the E.U. Taxation and Customs Union (TAXUD), show how counterfeit products, any kind of counterfeits, broadly affect a “developed” market. A brief overview of the EU statistics on seizures is available here. In emerging economies or in developing countries data are less available, however the collection of cases, reports and news contained in this web site clearly shows the huge dimension of this phenomenon as well as its serious consequences. An important aspect that helps us perceiving the global dimension of counterfeiting is the analysis of its trade routes. Some examples are presented in this website. They directly come from real cases and will be constantly updated as soon as we have notion of new interesting ones. |
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