A tide to stem. Pascal Lamy's activities as European Commissioner went out with a bang. In his press conference of 10 November on stepping up the fight against counterfeiting, he combined the strong reasoning and logic for which he is well known with a degree of showmanship, presenting the press with concrete examples of the skill with which counterfeiters (mainly Chinese) plunder the fruits of the creativity, intelligence and hard work of Europeans. He demonstrated how much piracy costs Europe in terms of jobs and wealth, and his words found their mark. Their effect must be multiplied by ten, a hundred, a thousand, to rouse the politicians and genuinely mobilise opinion against the organised pillage Europe suffers. Last spring, I set out to prove that the question goes far beyond the public's perception of it, as the man on the street very often sees no further than bargain-priced luxury products (watches, perfumes, ladies' handbags), or copies of films or music. The reality is far more serious, as the counterfeiting industry has gone into medicines, certain foodstuffs, aeroplane parts etc, with dreadful risks to health and safety (see this column of 13 March). In June, the French Minister for Trade, François Loos, spoke out against the organised crime networks behind the highly lucrative branches of piracy.
Figures and countries. Pascal showed the press room several objects (an exact copy of a luxury German tap, made in China), slides (a Volkswagen car identical down to the last details, sold in China under another brand name; a fully reproduced filling station), and most importantly, data, figures and lists of countries. Job losses in the EU? Up to 800,000, far more than those caused by delocalisation, which the unions get so worked up about despite being apparently unmoved by counterfeiting. Financial losses? Some 200 billion EUR a year, to the detriment of those companies which have invested in research, quality and originality. Third countries involved? China tops the leader board, with its multi-sectorial exploits. Russia started with music (60% of music products sold there are fake), and has since extended its range of piracy to pharmaceutical products, clothing and electronics. Turkey is at a similar level for music, but it is making progress (so to speak) into clothing and car parts. Ukraine's range extends to cigarettes, alcohol, food products and IT. Brazil, which is very active in music and software piracy, is also well-placed for toys, perfumes and cigarettes. South Korea is almost universally active: it is known to be the world's third-largest producer of fakes from all sectors! Traditionally efficient in copying music, films and computer games, Thailand and Indonesia are making inroads into other areas.
Daring to sanction. In order to fight this abuse, the Commission's strategy prioritises dialogue, persuasion and technical cooperation, and this is entirely expected, as nobody wants to get controversial ground with countries like Turkey, Russia, Brazil and China. But the possibility that recourse to dispute proceedings could lead to sanctions has not been ruled out. I believe that the EU should stand firm on this, and let it be known that any level of trade liberalisation in the future will largely depend on how strictly international anti-piracy laws are being observed. It would be unthinkable to isolate certain trade rules (such as removing quantitative restrictions and reducing levels of customs duty), and make do with promises for the rest of it. Piracy is a bad thing, whichever way you look at it: for holders of models and copyright, obviously, and for employment; but also at stake are safety, links with organised crime, consumer interests. Research and investment are injured, sometimes mortally. The Chinese authorities have expressed their goodwill to eradicate counterfeiting, and have adopted some measures. But just as Europe is getting ready to remove all quantitative restrictions on imports of textiles, bowing and scraping, nice smiles and promises are not a valid return. In the absence of radical measures, the Union should have the courage to suspend the removal of quantitative restrictions on textiles and clothing. I am fully aware that Pascal Lamy does not like unilateral initiatives and prefers dialogue; but when the latter fails, you can't rule out the former. The new Commissioner in charge of Customs, Laszlo Kovacs, announced a strong policy "at all costs" to fight counterfeiting. Pascal Lamy and his services have paved the way for this by putting together all the analyses and documentation. The Barroso Commission must now take action, inside the EU too, where at least one country (Italy) shines in the production of fakes and in the processing and distribution of fakes imported from other continents.
(F.R.)