Trade in counterfeit and pirated goods poses a serious and growing risk to economic growth, undermining good governance, the rule of law and citizens’ trust in government. In addition, the harmful impact of illicit trade in counterfeit and pirated goods on consumers’ health and safety and on the environment should not be underestimated.
To provide policymakers with reliable empirical evidence about this threat, the OECD, and the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have collected evidence on various aspects of this risk. The results have been published in a set of reports, including Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods: Mapping the Economic Impact (2016), Trends in Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods (2019) and Global Trade in Fakes: A Worrying Trend (2021). The results show that trade in counterfeit and pirated goods amounted to up to 2.5 % of world trade in 2019; when considering only imports into the EU, fake goods amounted to up to 5.8 % of imports. These amounts are similar to those calculated for previous years, and illicit trade in fakes remains a serious risk to modern, open, and globalised economies. Counterfeit and pirated products tend to be shipped to virtually all economies on all continents.
This report looks at the profiles of destination economies in the global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods. It employs quantitative analysis to look at the economic features of various countries, including the quantitative relationship between the intensities of counterfeiting, and selected, observable socio-economic factors. The results show that governance, the degree of technological development and certain socio-economic factors, such as education levels, affect an economy’s propensity to import counterfeit goods. The evidence in this report can help raise awareness and shape policies to counter the threat of illicit trade in counterfeits and its damaging implications for consumers.
This study was carried out under the auspices of the OECD’s Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade, which focuses on evidence-based research and advanced analytics to assist policy makers in mapping and understanding the vulnerabilities exploited and created by illicit trade. This report was approved by the Public Governance Committee via written procedure on 11 July 2023 and prepared for publication by the OECD Secretariat.