LOUISVILLE, Ky—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Louisville seized a shipment of counterfeit Louis Vuitton Belts valued at nearly half a million dollars.
On July 28, CBP Officers in Louisville, KY seized a shipment of 216 counterfeit Louis Vuitton Belts. The parcel was arriving from Hong Kong and was destined for Atlanta, Georgia. If the items were real the appraised total MSRP of the shipment was $453,600.
“CBP Officers in Louisville are committed to protecting the American consumer, the economy, and the facilitation legitimate business.” Chief Customs and Border Protection Officer Brian Lick states, “The sad reality is that counterfeiting is linked to crimes such as terrorism funding, human trafficking, and child labor.”
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement program. Importation of counterfeit merchandise can cause significant revenue loss, damage the U.S. economy, and threaten the health and safety of the American people.
On a typical day in 2019, CBP officers seized $4.3 million worth of products with Intellectual Property Rights violations. Learn more about what CBP did during "A Typical Day" in 2019.
CBP officers and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents seized 27,599 shipments containing counterfeit goods in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, down from 33,810 seizures in FY 2018. However, the total estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of the seized goods, had they been genuine, increased to over $1.5 billion from nearly $1.4 billion in FY 2018.
E- Commerce sales have contributed to large volumes of low-value packages imported into the United States. In FY 2019, there were 144 million express shipments and 463 million international mail shipments. Over 90 percent of all intellectual property seizures occur in the international mail and express environments.
The People’s Republic of China (mainland China and Hong Kong) remained the primary source economy for seized counterfeit and pirated goods, accounting for 83 percent of all IPR seizures and 92 percent of the estimated MSRP value of all IPR seizures.
Read CBP’s Intellectual Property Seizure Report for Fiscal Year 2019 for more IPR stats and analysis.
CBP conducts operations at ports of entry throughout the United States, and regularly screens arriving international passengers and cargo for narcotics, weapons, and other restricted or prohibited products. CBP strives to serve as the premier law enforcement agency enhancing the Nation’s safety, security, and prosperity through collaboration, innovation, and integration.