Counterfeit good seizures by the federal government during the past fiscal year included a significant rise in consumer safety and critical technology products, says a Jan. 9 report from Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In the report (.pdf), the two agencies--both part of the Homeland Security Department--say the total domestic value of merchandise seized during fiscal 2011 is $78.3 million and would have had a value of $1.11 billion were it legitimate. Fiscal 2011 ended on Sept 30, 2011; domestic value includes costs such as duties, fees, broker, and unloading charges and freight.

The category of seized consumer safety and critical technology goods rose in value by 41 percent compared to fiscal 2010, the report says.

Consumer electronics were the top commodity seized, constituting about 33 percent of the total domestic value. That's a change from previous years dating back to fiscal 2005, when footwear was the lead seized good.

China, as in other years, was the country from which the majority of counterfeit goods originated; if Hong Kong is included with China, then 80 percent of all seized goods in fiscal 2011 came from there (Hong Kong by itself manufactured 18 percent of seized counterfeit goods).

Counterfeit items in the supply chain of the Defense Department and other federal agencies has increasingly become a matter of discussion in recent years, with a strong anti-counterfeiting measure being approved as part of the fiscal 2012 defense authorization act. President Obama signed the bill on Dec. 31, making law a provision that will require the DoD and its contractors to favor buying electronic parts from "trusted suppliers."

For more:
- download the CBP/ICE report on fiscal 2011 counterfeit seizures (.pdf)

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