DHS Seizes $260 Million in Fake Goods in 2009

Agents of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized $260.7 million in bogus goods in fiscal 2009, the agencies announced Friday.

The 14,841 seizures were down 4 percent from the peak year of 2008, Customs said, largely because of an overall 25 percent decline in total imports. Until this year, the value of seizures had grown some 25 percent per year since 2005, when the agencies first stepped up their efforts to enforce intellectual property rights laws.

Counterfeit footwear led the list of goods seized with $99.8 million in value, three times the next-closest category, consumer electronics at $31.8 million. The next-highest categories were handbags, $21.5 million; wearing apparel, $21.4 million; and watches, $15.5 million.

Customs said officials intercepted some $32 million in goods that presented potential health or safety risks. Pharmaceuticals accounted for 34 percent of the total.

Exports from China accounted for 79 percent of total seizures, Customs said.

Contact R.G. Edmonson at bedmonson@joc.com.