U.S. Chamber Hails New Effort to Stop Fakes--Administration to Focus on Intellectual Property Theft

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce hailed today's announcement by the Bush administration of a new government-wide initiative to target global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods.

"These crimes are growing in scope and severity – no product category is out of the reach of counterfeiters. It's a big businesses and getting bigger," said David Hirschmann, Chamber senior vice president. "These criminals are a global problem and they are increasingly preying on U.S. employers and consumers."

Trade in counterfeit goods accounts for six to nine percent of all world trade and is sharply rising, according to a recent report. Intellectual property crimes drain an estimated $200-250 billion from the U.S. economy and results in the loss of 750,000 American jobs.

In addition to economic harm, counterfeit sales help finance global organized crime activities and, in the case of pharmaceuticals and other consumer products, can jeopardize health and safety.

Intellectual property crimes deter new innovation, reduce business sales and tax revenues, create liability concerns, lower corporate and shareholder profits, and destroy well established brands.

"Expanding cooperation with our trading partners to break the global supply chain of counterfeit and pirated goods is a significant step forward in combating these criminal activities," said Daniel Christman, Chamber senior vice president of international affairs. "We hope our trading partners will join us in strengthening enforcement in this area."

Earlier this year the Chamber launched a comprehensive effort to combat global intellectual property theft by urging lawmakers to strengthen anti-counterfeiting laws, increase enforcement efforts, and by working with international allies to focus attention on global threats to legitimate products.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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