Carrying Adidas, Nike fakes to US? Customs can destroy counterfeit goods

An individual may possess one counterfeit item per type for personal use only, not for sale. Possession of quantities exceeding this limit is prohibited, as per US Customs and Border Protection rules

Imagine travelling to a country and the custom officials run a pair of scissors through your clothes or just simply ditch them in the bin! Yes, this can happen if you travel to the US carrying fake brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, etc.

Recently, the US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) stepped up its efforts to stop smuggling of counterfeit goods into the country. Many Indian students and other travellers, who flew into the US in recent months, have had their fake luxury items seized at the airport by US customs officials.

According to the CPB rules, an individual may possess one counterfeit item per type (like, one shirt, handbag, or pair of shoes) for personal use only, not for sale. Possession of quantities exceeding this limit is prohibited.
 

A Times of India report quoted a teacher from Jharkhand’s Jamshedpur as saying that she travelled to Texas to meet her son, and was carrying eight shirts, four trousers, some pairs of socks, and a pair of shoes.

“At the port of entry, officials checked my bags and bombarded me with questions about where I was travelling from, who the goods were for, if I was smuggling them, etc. Though I tried explaining to them that it was all for my son, they insisted that I could not take them as they were all counterfeit goods (copies of big brands) which I wasn’t aware of. Since they threatened me with criminal charges, I had no choice but to let them seize everything immediately.”

She said the officials tore all the items before discarding them. “I lost goods worth at least Rs 30,000,” the teacher said, adding that the authorities should mention these rules on relevant platforms.

An Indian student in California faced a similar situation. “How do we know this (rule) if it is not prominently mentioned in the dos and don’ts guide that gives travellers a checklist of what can be carried and what can’t,” the student said, as quoted by the report. Custom officials threw his 10 shirts, pants, and three pairs of shoes at the airport.

Seizure of 23 million counterfeit goods

CPB officials noted that scrutiny had intensified following the seizure of 23 million counterfeit goods across 19,724 shipments in 2023, the report said.

A representative from the department said this constitutes a breach of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and had these goods been genuine or sold illegally under actual brand names, the value would have reached $2.7 billion.

The representative added that such fake goods threaten economic vitality, national security and public safety.

Importing them into the United States could lead to civil or criminal penalties, and buying counterfeit goods frequently contributes to criminal activities such as forced labour or human trafficking, the report quoted the representative as saying.