USTR identifies Bangladesh among top-five counterfeit product suppliers

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) said Bangladesh is one of the top five sources for counterfeit clothing globally, which stakeholders have identified as a concern this year.

In its 2024 Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement released yesterday, the USTR identified several countries which supply counterfeit products, violating intellectual property rights.

According to a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) released in 2021, the global trade of counterfeit and pirated goods reached $464 billion in 2019.

China (together with Hong Kong) continues to be the largest origin economy for counterfeit and pirated goods, accounting for more than 85 percent of global seizures of counterfeit goods from 2017 to 2019.

Stakeholders also continue to report dissatisfaction with border enforcement in Singapore, including concerns about the lack of coordination between Singapore’s customs authorities and the Singapore Police Force’s Intellectual Property Rights Branch.

Delays in obtaining registrations present a significant obstacle for protecting IP rights in foreign markets, with stakeholders identifying Bangladesh, Iraq and South Africa as countries with extreme delays in processing trademark applications.

A number of countries do not consider a likelihood of confusion with previously filed applications and registrations during examination, otherwise known as “relative grounds” refusals.

In FY 2023, the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)-led National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) conducted Intellectual Property Rights Investigative Methods Training programs in Indonesia, Namibia, and Nepal.

These programs included representatives from Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka and were supported by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), United States Patent and Trademark Office ( USPTO), the Department of Justice (DOJ), International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Advisors (ICHIPs), and other US federal agencies.

Regarding the report, Mohammad Hatem, executive president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said Bangladesh has a stringent intellectual property law.

He added that they had already suggested the USTR a few years ago to complain against specific companies that supply counterfeit products so the government can take action.

A few years ago, the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) complained to the USTR about counterfeit products supplied by Bangladesh to the US market.

But at the same time, the AAFA also suggested the USTR not to take any measures against Bangladesh as long as the country belongs to the group of least developed countries (LDCs), Hatem said.

The Special 301 Report is the result of an annual review of the state of intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement in US trading partners around the world, which the office of the USTR conducts pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974.