22 June 2006| Source: just-style.com
The US and the EU have launched a joint action programme to fight the counterfeiting of goods by international organised crime, which remains an acute problem for the clothing industry.
Washington and Brussels say they will set up joint-border enforcement actions focusing on fighting intellectual piracy and establish teams of diplomats in third-country embassies tasked with sharing data and intelligence on counterfeiting.
Initially, these initiatives will focus on working with China and Russia, although there are plans to expand joint-work to cover the rest of Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
EU industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen said: "The only way forward is innovation, invention and quality. When ideas or brands and products are pirated, ripped-off and counterfeited, this strategy is doomed."
In 2003, the most recent Brussels figures, EU customs authorities seized 3.8m items of counterfeit clothing and accessory items, including 404,000 items of sportswear, 1.3m of other clothing items and 2.1m accessories, including sunglasses, hats and handbags.
By Keith Nuthall