SUMMARY:

This week, the EUIPO and OCED have unveiled a joint study on the Correlation Between Illicit Trade in Counterfeits and Labour Exploitation (see attached).

The findings reveal that weak governance, limited rule-of-law enforcement and social vulnerability create environments where both counterfeiting and labour abuse flourish.

The study highlights abuses across the entire counterfeit supply chain: from clandestine factories to forced street vending and exploitation of vulnerable migrants.

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MORE INFORMATION:

According the study, counterfeiting activities extend far beyond intellectual property violations and directly support organised crime structures. Key findings:

• Countries identified as sources of counterfeit goods display higher levels of forced labour, child labour (including hazardous forms), informal employment and fatal occupational injuries.
• Countries with weaker labour protections—including lower trade union membership and collective bargaining coverage-show greater exposure to illicit trade networks.
• Econometric analysis shows that increase in forced labour prevalence is associated with increase in value of counterfeit trade, even after controlling for income levels, volumes of export and minimum wages.
• Evidence from enforcement agencies confirms that counterfeit is often sustained by abusive labour practices to cut costs and to maximise illicit profits.

The study also includes a list of policy recommendations for action, including:

• Strengthen labour governance and inspections
• Integrate labour-rights risk into trade enforcement.
• Promote responsible business conduct
• Expand the certification of clean trade zones
• Invest in data and transparency
• Promote tailored training for investigators to spot labour exploitation

For more infiomation, see here.

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