The report also examined the impact of counterfeit goods on the people who make them, part of the administration’s focus on how trade affects workers. Because these businesses operate outside the law, counterfeiting and piracy often go hand in hand with unsafe working conditions, child labor, forced labor and other issues, the trade representative’s office said.
“Counterfeit manufacturing often occurs in clandestine work places outside the reach of labor market regulations and inspection systems, which increases the vulnerability of workers to exploitative labor practices,” the report said.
The report will result in no immediate penalties for the named companies, though it said the goal of publishing such a list was to “motivate appropriate action by the private sector and governments.”
Congress is mulling some actions that could clamp down on Chinese e-commerce sales, including counterfeit goods, to the United States as part of a major legislative effort at promoting U.S. economic competitiveness with China.
One provision, proposed by Representative Earl Blumenauer, Democrat of Oregon, would raise the threshold for the dollar value of a good that could come into the United States duty free from certain countries, namely China.
That level, called de minimis, is set at $800 in the United States. That’s far above the level in many other countries, a policy that critics say has led to an explosion of imported e-commerce packages, including some unsafe and illicit goods.