Representatives Moore, Schneider Introduce Bipartisan Bill Targeting Counterfeit Imports
WASHINGTON — Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) introduced legislation to halt counterfeit and pirated imports into the United States. The bill changes how Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can share the packing and shipping information of suspected counterfeit products with key intellectual property rights holders, transportation carriers, and e-commerce platforms. Last week, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
“As a member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, I regularly speak to Utah companies that struggle to compete against IP theft and the proliferation of counterfeit material,” Rep. Moore said. “This bill will unlock real-time intelligence sharing between CBP and the private sector that will help shut down routes exploited by counterfeit operations and cut off counterfeit flows before they reach American shores.”
“Counterfeit goods undercut American businesses, threaten jobs, and endanger public safety. I’m proud to join my colleague on the Ways and Means Committee Rep. Blake Moore and Sens. Chuck Grassley and Maggie Hassan in introducing this legislation that enhances CBP’s ability to disrupt counterfeit trafficking networks and better safeguards our economy and communities,” Rep. Schneider said.
"Counterfeits threaten our nation's economy and can put consumers at serious risk. By boosting information sharing between Customs and Border Protection, rights holders and commerce professionals, our bipartisan bill would establish a straightforward and effective approach to cutting back on potentially dangerous counterfeit products," Senator Grassley said.
“This bipartisan, bicameral legislation will strengthen law enforcement efforts to identify and interdict counterfeit imports, helping to ensure that law enforcement, e-commerce platforms, and transportation carriers are working together to stop counterfeiters,” Senator Hassan said. “I will continue to support law enforcement efforts to protect consumers and keep counterfeit products from crossing our borders.”
"Counterfeit goods put American consumers, industry, and our supply chains at risk. This bill would empower CBP to protect the safety, intellectual property, and livelihoods of Americans. I thank Reps. Moore, Schneider, and Sen. Grassley for coming together on this effort," said Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), Chairman of the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee.
“Stopping counterfeits at the border demands a coordinated and collaborative approach,” said Travis Johnson, Vice President of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition. “This commonsense legislation enhances CBP’s ability to leverage private sector expertise and intelligence, and we applaud the sponsors for their efforts to protect consumers and legitimate businesses from the harms caused by those illicit imports.”
“We are thankful for Chairman Grassley’s efforts to call for more information sharing for rights holders to quickly and effectively identify counterfeit and illicit products. Counterfeit goods do not just represent economic losses, lost sales, and lost jobs through brand identity theft; the digital devalue chain of counterfeits exposes consumers and workers to a multitude of dangers that pose real product safety hazards for consumers, workers, and the environment,” said Steve Lamar, President and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association.
Background:
While CBP’s job is to identify counterfeit products at U.S. ports of entry and flag for businesses when they suspect a particular shipment might be counterfeit or pirated, they are currently only allowed to provide limited information about shipments in question. CBP is not permitted to share packing materials (such as the external container in which goods are shipped), images, labels, invoices, or packing slips that identify the product’s country of origin, with key parties such as property rights holders, carriers like DHL, UPS, or FedEx, and e-commerce platforms like Etsy and Amazon.
This bill would provide explicit authority for CBP to share all relevant information with companies, carriers, and platforms when a shipment in question contains suspected counterfeit or pirated products. The bill also broadens the range of parties with whom CBP can disclose such information, including shipping companies and e-commerce sites where the product in question may be sold.
Under this bill, CBP would be allowed to share:
- Shipping labels and tracking numbers
- Sender and recipient addresses
- Invoices and manifests
- Outer packaging images, like courier tape, weight notations, and box markings
- Container-level packaging information and data
This means CBP could flag patterns of behaviors such as:
- Repeat senders across multiple shipments
- “Drop addresses” used by organized counterfeiters
- Common entry ports or air routes
Example: A counterfeit electronics shipment from Shenzhen repeatedly enters via the Port of Los Angeles, using the same fake return address and tracking patterns. With this bill, CBP can share these patterns with carriers like UPS, DHL, and FedEx to intercept future parcels earlier in the pipeline.
The Moore-Schneider bill is supported by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, American Apparel & Footwear Association, Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Council, Baby Safety Alliance, International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, International Trademark Association, Partnership for Safe Medicines, Pharmaceutical Security Institute, and Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade.
Read the full bill here.
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