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- Outside the zone of bribery: the volume of counterfeit products in the EAEU has decreased
Outside the zone of bribery: the volume of counterfeit products in the EAEU has decreased
Over a five-year period, about 53 million copies of counterfeit goods were found on the territory of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, said Bakhyt Sultanov, a member of the Board for Economics and Financial Policy of the Eurasian Economic Commission. Izvestia investigated how effective the current anti-counterfeiting measures are and what additional tools could strengthen control, as well as how counterfeit products affect businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.
Market impact
The excessive presence of counterfeit products has different effects on the situation of domestic businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, Oleg Moskvitin, Deputy director of the Institute for National and Comparative Law Research at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told Izvestia. On the one hand, manufacturers and official sellers of original goods suffer financial losses, since some buyers unknowingly acquire fakes, believing that these are genuine products. On the other hand, some consumers consciously choose counterfeit products as a cheaper option. An additional difficulty for honest entrepreneurs is created by the fact that unscrupulous sellers often use schemes to artificially reduce the tax burden, including cases with food products, for example, when animal fats are replaced with vegetable fats in the oil.
At the same time, fake products, according to the expert, are most often distributed through markets, fairs, small shops and marketplaces. It is believed that about 40% of counterfeit goods are sold in the online environment. Paradoxical as it may sound, the presence of counterfeit goods today actually provides employment for a certain part of entrepreneurs.
— According to data previously announced by the HSE, counterfeiting can account for up to 40% of the turnover of certain types of products in Russia, and every tenth product of certain types can be counterfeit in the country as a whole. Product categories such as clothing, shoes, sporting goods, electronics, auto parts, alcohol, food, and children's toys are particularly affected," the expert noted.
Fair trade
The member states of the Eurasian Economic Union are taking significant steps to combat counterfeit products, which is confirmed by the discovery of 53 million counterfeit items over the past five years, Oleg Moskvitin believes. At the same time, the actual scale of the problem, of course, significantly exceeds the officially recorded figures.
— There are several areas that require further development within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union in countering counterfeiting. In particular, we are talking about the need to unite and coordinate the actions of the participating countries, as well as the more active introduction of digital tools and modern technologies for the recognition of counterfeit products," the expert emphasized.
To date, the increase in counterfeit products is considered a global problem, Anastasia Melnikova, senior lecturer at the Department of Entrepreneurship and Logistics at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, noted in an interview with Izvestia. To protect their brands from counterfeiting, companies use a variety of methods to verify the authenticity of goods. In particular, Russia has a national labeling system called Honest Mark. In accordance with the requirements of Federal Law No. 488-FZ, a number of product categories are subject to mandatory labeling, from dairy products to cosmetics, perfumes and building materials, and the list of these products is gradually expanding.
"This measure allows consumers to verify the authenticity of their products, and the manufacturer to protect their brand," she said. — As a result, the main problems for companies whose products are being counterfeited are solved: loss of revenue in general, reputational costs, reduced margins due to unfair competition, because fakes are often sold at a low price.
Open sources show a positive trend, the head of the Popular Front told Izvestia. Analytics" by Olga Pozdnyakova. If in 2021 it was reported that the turnover of over 80 million units of counterfeit products was suppressed over a five-year period, then over the past five years this figure has decreased to 53 million, which indicates an improvement in the situation in the field of combating counterfeiting.
Also, the data, according to her, indicate that the measures taken are yielding tangible results. This is especially noticeable against the background of an increase in the volume of mutual trade within the Eurasian Economic Union: from 2015 to 2024, the trade turnover between the participating countries increased by about two times in monetary terms.
—In 2015, an agreement was adopted on the coordination of actions for the protection of intellectual property rights of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union," the expert recalled. — Within the framework of the agreement, actions are coordinated to prevent, identify, suppress and investigate violations of intellectual property rights and the relevant legislation of the States is being harmonized.
At the moment, the key direction in solving the problem is considered to be the complete digitalization of trade turnover, Olga Pozdnyakova noted. Particular importance is attached to the introduction of a traceability system for certain product categories. Initially, the launch of the pilot project was planned for the summer of 2022, but due to difficulties with the implementation of national tracking systems, its launch was postponed to the current year. At the same time, it will take several more months for the final implementation of the initiative, since one of the EAEU countries needs to finalize and adapt its own system.
The share of countries with which the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union have concluded free trade agreements has increased significantly in Russian foreign trade. If in 2015 this figure was only 13.9%, then by 2023 it has increased to 36.3%. During this period, trade turnover with China increased by more than three and a half times, with Iran — more than three times, with Vietnam — by about a third, and with Serbia — by almost half. This dynamic is linked to the strengthening of economic ties within the EAEU and the active development of external cooperation. In addition, such results are evidence of increased resilience of regional economies to external challenges.
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