Counterfeiting and Piracy Briefing
AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
Opening Remarks by Thomas J. Donohue
President & CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Capitol Hill
April 6, 2006
Counterfeiting and piracy pose a real threat to American firms and workers. These crimes cost the U.S. economy between $200 and $250 billion per year and a total of 750,000 American jobs.
They hurt innovation, undercut our ability to compete in foreign markets, expose companies to massive liability exposure, threaten public health, and even help fund organized crime and terrorism.
The U.S. Chamber, through the National Chamber Foundation, is moving forward with a comprehensive worldwide program to effectively thwart the growing threat of counterfeiting and piracy.
Our mission is simple: to make the world a miserable place for counterfeiters and pirates.
We are aggressively implementing a three-part strategy:
First, we are educating businesses, media, and lawmakers on the growing economic threat of counterfeiting and piracy in the United States.
Second, we are working with Congress and federal agencies to secure the supply chain by toughening existing laws and increasing detection and enforcement efforts.
And third, we are strengthening global IP protection and enforcement by working with key stakeholders in China, Brazil, India, Russia, and Korea. Our efforts in those countries include policy advocacy and education, capacity building, data collection, coalition development, and consumer awareness campaigns.
It is no longer acceptable to consider counterfeiting and piracy as merely another cost of doing business. It is not a victimless crime. This is a modern-day scourge that is spiraling out of control. It has the potential to destroy industries and knock the economy from strong perch.
Today, we have a great opportunity to hear from key government officials who are at the forefront of this issue, including the two gentlemen who are standing beside me.
Through President Bush and the Secretary Gutierrez' guidance and leadership, federal agencies are working together like never before on this challenge.
The STOP initiative—or, the Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy—has united nine federal agencies to disrupt the criminal networks that traffic in fakes, halt counterfeit and pirated products from entering our borders, block bogus goods from moving around the world, and help American businesses secure and enforce their rights in the global marketplace.
We commend President Bush and Secretary Gutierrez' efforts in directing interagency cooperation and coordination. We also applaud them for successfully working with the private sector and reaching out to the various stakeholders.
Senator Hatch has been a strong Capitol Hill ally of the anti-counterfeiting and IP protection initiative. As chairman of the Finance Committee's Intellectual Property Subcommittee, the senator has been very active on issues involving intellectual property and international trade.
The Senator is working to identify more effective Customs enforcement to prevent fake goods from entering the country, add a strong IP focus in both bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, and get tougher with trading partners who violate intellectual property protections.
I'd like to invite both gentlemen to say a few words, beginning with Secretary Gutierrez.