Special Report
10 Most Counterfeited Products in America
April 10, 2019 4:11 pm
Last Updated: January 11, 2020 9:21 am
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials process more than 278 million cargo and parcel shipments from abroad each year. While the majority of these are legal goods, a small percentage contains counterfeit items. The agency seized and destroyed 34,143 shipments containing counterfeit goods in the 2017 fiscal year, the most recent year with available data.
The CBP seized 8.2% more shipments of counterfeit goods in 2017 compared with the previous year, when the agency seized 31,560 shipments. The value of the knock-offs taken, however, was considerably less, dropping to $1.21 billion in 2017 from $1.38 billion the year before. Most counterfeit items are seized while entering the United States come from Asia. Some 78% of seized counterfeit items came from China or Hong Kong in fiscal 2017. This is only where the goods were shipped from, not necessarily where they were made.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed the counterfeit items seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to determine America’s most counterfeited items.
Products that are counterfeited are almost all luxury goods such as watches, jewelry, electronics, and accessories. According to a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Nike, one of the world’s most valuable labels, is the most faked brand. Other prestigious brands counterfeiters target include Rolex and designer Louis Vuitton. Pharmaceuticals also are among the most counterfeited items. They can contain an incorrect dosage or even lack the active ingredient that makes the genuine drug effective.
In order to determine America’s most counterfeited items, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a division of the Department of Homeland Security. Items were ranked based on the number of total seizures made in fiscal year 2017. Market values also came from CBP, which determined the value of the counterfeit goods based on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of the genuine goods.
Click here to see America’s most counterfeited items
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