Online sales represent 60% of seizures of dangerous counterfeits destined for the EU, according to a new study by the OECD and EUIPO.

The ‘Dangerous Fakes’ study, published on 17 March, examines trade in counterfeit goods that pose health, safety and environmental threats.

It is based on customs seizure and other enforcement data from 2017 to 2019 as well as interviews with enforcement experts.

The full 90-page report can be read and downloaded in English on the EUIPO website. The executive summary is also available in all EU languages and the press release in six languages.

The study took two approaches to identifying dangerous counterfeits.

The first approach included all goods that need to meet product-specific safety standards, are under the scope of the US Food and Drug Administration or are subject to the draft SHOP SAFE Act now being debated in the United States. This broad approach included apparel products, automotive spare parts, optical and medical apparatus and pharmaceuticals.

The second approach was narrower and looked only at foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and goods that are frequently subject to safety alerts and recalls. Under this approach, the most commonly traded categories were perfumery and cosmetics, clothing, toys, automotive spare parts and pharmaceuticals.

Based on the narrower approach, the report found there were 70,000 customs seizures of potential dangerous goods from 2017 to 2019. The total volume of potential dangerous fakes traded was almost $75 billion in 2019, which was 16% of the global trade in counterfeit goods.

The report provides selected data based on both approaches. The following data are derived from the first, broader, approach.

Online sales represented 60% of global seizures of dangerous products destined for the EU. Of these, cosmetics accounted for 46% of seizures, clothing 18%, toys and games 17% and automotive spare parts 8%.

Postal parcels accounted for 60% of dangerous good seized, although sea was the top mode of transport in terms of seized value. Among dangerous counterfeits shipped by vessel, the most frequently seized product category was toys and games (28%), although vehicle parts were by far the most seized category by value – partly due to one seizure of 50,000 spare parts from China to Ukraine.

China accounted for 52% of global customs seizures of dangerous counterfeits, Hong Kong 27% and Turkey 8% while the leading destination for dangerous counterfeit goods was the United States (37%) followed by Germany (21%).

China was also the biggest origin of dangerous goods shipped by vessel, representing more than 70% of global seizures. A large number of dangerous goods shipped by sea were destined for Gulf countries, with Saudi Arabia topping the list.

Previous OECD/EUIPO reports have found that trade in counterfeit and pirated goods constituted up to 2.5% of world trade in 2019 and up to 6.8% of imports into the EU.

EUIPO Executive Director Christian Archambeau said in a statement accompanying the publication of the report: “We are confident that this evidence will help understand the risk that counterfeiting poses to our society, facilitate the development of innovative policies to respond to these challenges, and promote fair trade in the post-COVID recovery.”

Photo from ‘Dangerous Fakes’ page on the EUIPO website.