Foreword
Illicit trade in fake goods damages economic growth; fuels corruption; and can undermine sound public governance.
To provide policy makers with solid empirical evidence for taking action against this growing menace, the OECD and the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) joined forces to carry out a set of analytical studies. The results published in previous reports Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods: Mapping the Economic Impact and Mapping the Real Routes of Trade in Fake Goods show that trade in counterfeit and pirated goods amounted to up to 2.5 % of world trade in 2013; when considering only the imports into the EU, they amounted to up to 5 % of imports. These reports also showed that counterfeit and pirated products originate from virtually all economies on all continents, and are conveyed by virtually all means of transport.
One of the areas that has garnered increased attention in recent years has been the use by counterfeiters and other illicit traders of small shipments to cloak their activities. This study provides detailed analysis of economy- and industry-specific patterns in the misuse of small parcel services by counterfeiters. Such information is crucially needed, not only for better understanding this threat, but also for developing effective governance responses.
This study was carried out under the auspices of the OECD’s Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade. The Task Force is part of the OECD High Level Risk Forum, 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.