BGMEA asks its members to stand against producing counterfeit goods

Staff Reporter :
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has directed its member factories to take necessary steps on stand against manufacturing counterfeit goods in order to build buyers’ confidence, according to statement.
The statement issued on Sunday, the BGMEA President Faruque Hassan also said that they have taken the matter seriously and are working with the government to settle the issue.
Recently, the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and the Paris-based Union des Fabricants (UNIFAB) made a submission to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to include Bangladesh in the priority watch list of USTR’s Special 301 Review for alleged involvement in exporting counterfeit goods, including clothing.
In its submission, AAFA mentioned that “while being an important legitimate sourcing country for the industry, counterfeits from Bangladesh are being seized at an increasing rate globally as counterfeit production is growing.”
“Well-organized Bangladeshi-run counterfeiting networks effectively exported counterfeits for sales to consumers in the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Malaysia and other countries,” AAFA said.
It also mentioned statistics about ‘surplus’ or ‘overrun’ products indicating the trading of stock-lots.
The USTR conducts regular annual Special 301 Review which concerns Intellectual Property Right (IPR) protection and enforcement.
BGMEA has taken the matter seriously and is working with the government, the statement said.
It said the government has made an initial submission already and a detailed submission is being prepared currently.
“Though as an LDC, Bangladesh enjoys international support measures in the form of development assistance and certain waivers, however we should not label ourselves as a source of counterfeit goods,” Faruque added.
He also said, “Currently, we are focusing mostly on social and environmental compliance issues. But now, we have to pay more attention to these emerging issues governing trade across borders.”
“I would like to request you to remain more careful about right ownership about the products you are manufacturing, particularly if the order is placed by a licensee, importer or an agent of the brand owner,” the BGMEA president said.
BGMEA will take up awareness and capacity-building programs around this issue which include raising awareness, dissemination of relevant knowledge and information, and so on, he added.
“We should commit ourselves to say no to any business that involved violation of IPR. If we can do so, it will give us an extra edge as we are transitioning to a middle income country,” Faruque said.
“On the other hand, we will be able to retain the trust and confidence of our valued customers which we have built over more than 40 years,” the BGMEA president added.