Canada in talks with Trump officials over fresh demands to curb phoney goods

Internal document reveals potential compromises in longstanding trade irritant with U.S. over fake imports

By Dean Beeby,

The Liberal government is in talks with U.S. officials to resolve fresh demands from Washington that Canada get tougher on counterfeit goods, such as fake iPhones and phoney Prada fashions, CBC News has learned.

The Trump administration wants Canadian customs officers to begin seizing so-called fake imports even if the goods — largely from China — are merely transiting through Canada to markets in the United States and elsewhere.

Under a Canadian law in effect from 2015, customs officers can seize only those fake imports destined for the Canadian market.

In the 13 months up to December last year, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) seized 31 such shipments worth at least $600,000 — a drop in the bucket, according to critics who say fake imports to Canada are worth billions of dollars.

Canadian officials have long rebuffed demands for a much tougher counterfeit law, including demands by Obama administration officials who wanted the 2015 legislation to compel the seizure of fake imports transiting Canada, not just those intended for sale in Canada.

As James Moore, then-industry minister in the Conservative government, told a Senate committee in late 2014: “It’s a bit of a stretch for someone in the American administration — I made this clear to them — to ask the Government of Canada and the Canadian taxpayers to act as a border filter for all goods destined for the U.S. market.”

Seeking compromise?

full story at http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/us-canada-trade-counterfeit-pirated-imports-1.4426614

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