The Trump administration announced a partnership with Amazon as part of a joint operation to prevent foreign-made counterfeit products from being sold to buyers in the United States.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center launched a project with Amazon due, in part, to the online retailer’s massive place on the market.
“The IPR Center plays a critical role in securing the global supply-chain to protect the health and safety of the American public,” IPR Center Director Steve Francis, a career federal law enforcement officer, said in a statement. “However, our efforts are increased with partners like Amazon to identify, interdict, and investigate individuals, companies, and criminal organizations engaging in the illegal importation of counterfeit products.”
Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit is leading the effort, dubbed Operation Fulfilled Action. Last year, the company invested more than $500 million into anti-counterfeit and other fraud and abuse programs.
“Amazon conducts investigations and sidelines inventory if we suspect a product may be counterfeit, ensuring our customers are protected,” said Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of customer trust and partner support. “But we also know that counterfeiters don’t just attempt to offer their wares in one store, they attempt to offer them in multiple places. Now, by combining intelligence from Amazon, the IPR Center and other agencies, we’re able to stop counterfeits at the border, regardless of where bad actors were intending to offer them.”
Amazon added that 99.9% of its web pages have not been reported as being replica items and that consumers should “shop with confidence.”
Federal agency Customs and Border Protection and shipping company DHL are also working with IPR and Amazon. CBP inspects imported mail, packages, and cargo.
Amazon also partnered with the U.S. government earlier this year in an effort to block counterfeit coronavirus-related supplies from being sold on its website.
