Dangerous rise in counterfeit medicines observed in the Pacific – صحيفة الصوت

When counterfeits are mentioned, most people think of money but in the Pacific it’s the trade of counterfeit items, in particular medicines, that is quickly becoming a problem, Customs administrators warn.

This was highlighted at the recent Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.

The OCO’s acting head, Irma Daphney Stone, said Customs officials had noticed a rise in the purchase of common counterfeit commodities and medications, mostly prevalent in commercial and e-commerce trade.

While she could not reveal which specific medicines were targeted, Stone said the items had social and economic impacts on communities and governments.

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“The trade of counterfeit items is on the rise and quickly becoming a problem for us in the Pacific,” Stone said.

“Today, it’s getting harder and harder to notice counterfeits as the makers are also getting smarter and making the goods look as genuine as possible.

“When we opt for fake items, we are opting for substandard goods, which generally are cheaper but which could pose serious side-effects in the case of medicines.”

A US study in 2019 found 70% of counterfeit products were sold online, netting around half a trillion dollars annually.

The report pointed to AliExpress by AliBaba as the worst culprit for selling counterfeit goods. In 2017, AliBaba was sued by Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent which claimed the company wasn’t doing enough to stop displaying counterfeit products on its site.

In September 2011, New Zealand signed an international anti-counterfeiting trade agreement in Japan. The agreement aimed to curb a growing trade in counterfeit goods and pirated copyright works and covers countries representing half the world’s trade.

New Zealand businesses and consumers face a growing trade in illegal goods crossing the border and in the digital environment, the Government said. “The new agreement will strengthen international enforcement in a co-operative and balanced way.”

Stone said the trade of counterfeit goods has moved on to medicines since the global Covid-19 pandemic.

She said the OCO and USPTO are working with Customs officers from various countries in the region to understand Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) “and more importantly on how to notice counterfeit goods”.

“We need to educate our officers before we go out to inform our community about the seriousness of counterfeit goods not only in food but all kinds of goods, the most dangerous in my opinion is counterfeit medicine,” Customs Inspection chief in American Samoa’s Department of Treasury Faifua Suafoa said.

A workshop on the trade of counterfeit goods was held in Bangkok last month for Customs and IPR officers from the Indo-Pacific region including American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Fiji and Guam.

Suafoa said officers were trained to understand the laws that enforce IPR and protect genuine products.

“They also learned to distinguish genuine products and medications from common counterfeits that are prevalent in commercial trade and e-commerce, as well as understand the Customs recordation system and how it can be used as a tool against importing counterfeits.”

Underworld investigator Misha Glenny said the Covid-19 pandemic had changed the nature of the drug-dealing business, and worked against the cartels who controlled the illicit drugs trade.

“There was an immediate panic because drugs basically became the toilet rolls of the illicit world. When everyone realised that lockdown was coming, there was a huge scramble for people to get their stashes in before lockdown.”