CBP Grappling With E-Commerce IP Issues, Official Testifies

Customs and Border Protection needs more authority to combat counterfeiters, the Senate Finance Committee was told. Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner in CBP's Office of Trade, said it will take a few months of consultation with the private sector to say what kind of authority. Ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pressed for a deadline, and when Smith demurred, asked her to report back within 60 days. "I will do my best," she responded. Smith said Congress might also need to increase penalties for counterfeit goods. Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, told her, "We'll see what we can do to back you up and help you." The hearing highlighted a recent GAO report that 20 of 47 items ordered by auditors from online sellers were counterfeit (see 1803060042). CBP reported that intellectual property rights seizures rose again in FY 2017, though the dollar value fell. Wyden noted solving the counterfeiting issue "isn’t going to be as simple as putting a few more policy tools in CBP’s kit." Agency hiring difficulties hurt its ability to protect "U.S. consumers and businesses from illegal and unfairly traded goods," he said: "The internet has transformed" commerce and "CBP is too often playing catch-up ball tracking these fake products down." Smith said "the scope of the challenge is tremendous." Cooperation from package shippers is improving, she told senators. The agency receives advance electronic data from Chinese and Hong Kong mail services; 88 percent of counterfeits originate from those locales.