John Manchester
Director, IP Policy, Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC), U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Published
May 04, 2026
Counterfeit goods remain a nearly $500 billion global problem. But a wave of private-sector action — backed by public-sector partnerships — is shifting the balance against bad actors.
Why it matters: Fakes aren't just cheap knock-offs. They're linked to organized crime, forced labor, and other criminal activity. The cost falls on consumers, legitimate businesses, and the broader economy.
Driving the news: Amazon's 2026 Trustworthy Shopping Experience Report reveals the scale of its anti-counterfeiting infrastructure. Key numbers:
- Proactive controls blocked 99.9% of suspected infringing listings before brand owners ever had to report them.
- More than 15 million counterfeit products were seized and disposed of worldwide in 2025.
- Since its launch in 2020, Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit has pursued more than 32,000 bad actors across 14 countries.
- Amazon's efforts have resulted in prison sentences for more than 290 individuals.
- 2.7 billion product units have been verified as genuine through Amazon's Transparency serialization program.
The big picture: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is reinforcing the message that IP protection is an economic imperative by partnering with CBP, which seized nearly 79 million counterfeits valued at $7.3 billion in FY2025. The Chamber's "Shop Smart" campaign pushes consumer education — urging shoppers to verify sellers, check for secure payments, and report fakes.
Meanwhile, the Chamber's IP Champions program spotlights leaders like North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, whose Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force grew from one agent to 150 members, handling 7,500+ cases and seizing $200+ million in fake goods. Her takeaway: interagency cooperation and private-sector partnerships are the "heart and soul" of effective enforcement.
Between the lines: What's emerging is a model where business doesn't wait for regulation — it builds the enforcement infrastructure itself. Amazon's investment in AI-powered detection, knowledge graph technology, and predictive IP protection (flagging counterfeits of viral products before brands even register complaints) goes well beyond compliance. The Chamber's advocacy and coalition-building creates the policy environment for that work to scale.
The bottom line: Government can't police a $500 billion problem alone. The most effective anti-counterfeit playbook right now is business-led, publicly reinforced, and increasingly global.
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