November 28, 2023 – This holiday season, Illinoisans will unknowingly be giving the gift of cash to some of the most dangerous criminal groups, from gangs to drug cartels, operating in the world today.
There has been a rise of cases where criminals make money from illegal trade by peddling fake and stolen goods and skirting tax payments.
The National Association of Manufacturers found in 2019 that counterfeit products cost the U.S. economy $131 billion.
Launched in 2021, United to Safeguard America from Illegal Trade (USA-IT) is a coalition led by Philip Morris International and supported by more than 85 national and state brand enforcement experts, law enforcement agencies, academics and leading business organizations working to empower local officials, law enforcement and other leaders with new information and training programs. USA-IT aims to raise public awareness of the depth and severity of this crime.
Michael Ball, acting deputy assistant director of Homeland Security Investigations, said some of the illicit market goods could be dangerous.
“Counterfeit goods often don’t meet the same safety standards as general products,” said Ball. “Items like toys, electronics and cosmetics can be manufactured using substandard materials resulting in potential hazards, such as electrical malfunctions, chemical reactions or even choking risks for children.”
In Illinois, USA-IT is supported by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, the Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois and others.
The effort also extends to online shopping. Jennifer Hanks, director of Brand Protection for the American Apparel & Footwear Association, is calling for lawmakers to pass the “Shop Safe Act” to crack down on harmful counterfeit e-commerce goods.
“They would need to meet the same requirements and face the same accountability as brick-and-mortar stores,” said Hanks.
Illinois ranks seventh in the country in illegal cigarette smuggling, which costs taxpayers over $135 million a year. In 2018, $15 million in smuggled currency was seized in Illinois, the third most in the country.
Last September, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport seized a shipment containing 67 pieces of counterfeit designer watches, bracelets, handbags and scarves.
“Some of these items could be entering the stream of commerce to benefit a transnational criminal organization and we do know there have been cases where the profits from the sale of counterfeit items have gone to support terrorist causes,” said Tim Borden with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Chicago.
Nationwide during fiscal year 2022, CBP seized over 24 million shipments with Intellectual Property Rights violations worth just shy of $3 billion, had the goods been genuine.
