Washington DC, 4 November 2021 – TIC Council Americas has published its recommendations for combating the growth of counterfeit goods sold in the United States following the Senate hearing on “Cleaning Up Online Marketplaces: Protecting Against Stolen, Counterfeit, and Unsafe Goods”.

As a part of the Buy Safe and Shop Safe Coalitions, TIC Council Americas publicly supports the INFORM Consumers Act legislation to increase transparency and accountability for online marketplaces amid the rapidly growing problem of illicit goods sold online, as well as the SHOP SAFE Act of 2021 on contributory liability for the use of a counterfeit mark by third parties on electronic commerce platforms. 

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and growth of online retail sites, the sale of counterfeit products has grown exponentially over the last few years. In a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) study, it is estimated that seizures of counterfeit or infringing products had increased 10-fold between the years of 2000 and 2018 and has only continued to grow. With it comes lost revenue to legitimate businesses, increased risks to safety, reliability and security, and a loss of consumers’ trust. 

“The reality is that rogue operators  who counterfeit consumer products will most probably not test their products  for safety, said Karin Athanas, TIC Council Americas Executive Director, Instead, to give a false sense of assurance to buyers, they counterfeit the testing marks on the product to falsely indicate  that they meet US and Industry requirements for safety and function. We need to work together to address these difficult issues and continue our work to defend the health and safety of consumers. And that’s why the TIC Council Americas is an active participant of both the Buy Safe and Shop Safe Coalitions.”

To find out more about the TIC sector recommendations read our Position Paper by clicking the link here.

Visit BuySafeAmerica.org and read their study on the Impact of Counterfeit Consumer Products Smuggled into the United States for more information on protecting communities from counterfeit and stolen goods, and solutions to better protect consumers and businesses.