Amidst controversy that China is selling fake products to the international market, the U.S. and China have pledged to pursue product pirates identified by U.S. authorities in an effort to trample the flourishing counterfeit industry.
Of late, Chinese products have been found to be containing toxics that prove harmful to the lives of many of its international consumers. And recently, a drug racket was also busted in the country that said that many of Chinese hospitals are supplying patients with fake drugs.
China accounted for about 80% of the 14,775 shipments of counterfeit goods seized at U.S. ports last year. Therefore, the agreement comes amid such mounting concerns raised by the U.S. authorities and international community to rein in the flourishing pirate industry in China.
Under the agreement, U.S. Customs department would supply China with information on the source of seized goods, and Beijing would have to report back within 90 days on the steps taken to track down the counterfeiters.
W. Ralph Basham, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection insisted that simply interdiction wont help, but a mechanism to deal with the source of the problem is needed and the current scenario requires a check on illegal trade.
Many eyebrows have been raised even before this, as China has long been the world’s leading source of illegally copied goods ranging from designer clothes to movies and music. But a major concern about mounting danger to public safety arose following the discovery of a toxic chemical in Chinese-made toothpaste and pet food. A Chinese medicine ingredient is believed to have killed 100 people in Panama.
In 2003, the country witnessed about 13 baby deaths, thanks to fake baby formula on which they were fed.
There has been a ruthless manufacture of such fake drugs, medicine, auto parts and other goods, despite international pressures. China has finally initiated in this area and increased penalties for piracy and conducted repeated crackdowns. But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Motion Picture Association of America rue that the scale of piracy is growing faster than enforcement.
There is an urgent need to quell the ever-growing pirate industry in china or wherever it is flourishing. Strict and stringent laws have to be formulated at international levels to rein in this illegal trade that is booming at the risk of public health and safety.
Via: Usatoday
