Joining hands to fight counterfeit goods: Part 2 - A constant, continuous battle with no forbidden zones

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Recently, at the national online conference to review the work of the first quarter of 2025, discussing the direction and tasks for the coming time, members of the National Steering Committee 389 pointed out the limitations in the fight against trade fraud and counterfeit goods. That is, the work against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods has not fully reflected the reality. Counterfeit goods, poor quality goods, goods of unknown origin, and goods that infringe intellectual property rights are still being smuggled deep into the country, sold openly, and increased in the e-commerce environment on a large scale and for a long time, directly affecting people's health.

Area for displaying, introducing, promoting and consuming OCOP products, specialties of Bac Giang province.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son, Head of the National Steering Committee 389, emphasized that the main cause of the above shortcomings and limitations is due to the unclear responsibilities and awareness of some leaders of Party committees, local authorities, units and functional forces, and there are still signs of avoidance and shirking when violations occur. The exchange and sharing of information and databases between agencies is not good. The system of legal documents is not complete and does not specifically stipulate the handling of violations of the law. "The question is that there are many relevant legal provisions and many forces participating in prevention and control, but the situation of production and trade of counterfeit goods is still complicated and public, so it is necessary to clarify the responsibilities of each force further" - the Deputy Prime Minister expressed.

Even more worrying is that the management agency - where people put their trust in preventing fake and poor quality goods - is actually helping those who produce fake goods. Most recently, the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency has prosecuted and temporarily detained Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong, former Director of the Department of Food Safety (Ministry of Health) and his accomplices to investigate bribery related to the production of fake food. The subjects have issued certificates for a number of products even though they do not ensure quality and food hygiene and safety. This information has caused a stir in public opinion, because the agency that "guards" the community's safe products is actually condoning the production of fake goods, indirectly poisoning the people.

At the meeting of the Government's Steering Committee on Science, Technology, Innovation, Digital Transformation and Project 06 held on May 17, specifically regarding the task of fighting against counterfeit goods, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that there are 100 tons of counterfeit goods that the government, the Party committees, and the authorities do not know about, there can only be two reasons. One is that there is no longer the will to fight, and the other is that they are bribed. Because the subjects who commit this act must certainly have large warehouses and yards; must transport, have regular buying and selling and trading activities. This is negative, and the relevant collectives and individuals must be strictly handled.

In addition to the factors mentioned above, the fight against counterfeit goods in the country in general and Bac Giang in particular faces many difficulties. The representative of the Economic Police Department, Bac Giang Provincial Police stated that in the fight against commercial fraud and counterfeit goods, the unit also encountered some obstacles such as: Bac Giang province is large, the level of education and awareness of the people about the fight against crime of producing and trading counterfeit goods is limited and uneven. Some people buy counterfeit goods for a large amount of money but when discovered, they do not report to the authorities. Meanwhile, the subjects producing and trading counterfeit goods operate more and more sophisticatedly, with vigilance, regularly changing the design of goods, changing production locations, and disguising themselves to deceive the authorities.

Managing, detecting, checking and handling subjects trading goods on the Internet and e-commerce platforms takes a lot of time and has certain obstacles because transactions such as ordering, exchanging information, and negotiating prices all take place on cyberspace, account information, and phone numbers are often not true to reality. Mr. Chu Thanh Hien, Head of the Market Management Department, member of the Provincial Steering Committee 389, informed that currently, equipment serving the prevention and combat of acts of taking advantage of the Internet to trade and trade counterfeit goods has not met practical requirements. In addition, the lack of highly qualified technical staff, lack of funding for preservation and testing when taking samples to analyze the quality of products and goods with signs of violations makes it difficult to have a basis for handling.

Conduct a peak period of counterfeit goods crackdown

The world and regional situation is forecast to continue to develop complicatedly, with many new difficulties emerging. Meanwhile, the whole country continues to persevere with the growth target of over 8% in 2025. The fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods plays a very important role in contributing to healthy and sustainable economic development, macroeconomic stability, strengthening social order and safety, enhancing national competitiveness and the country's international reputation. Therefore, on May 17, 2025, the Prime Minister issued a Directive on strengthening the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods in the new situation.

Accordingly, it is emphasized that fighting against smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and intellectual property rights infringement is a long-term task that requires the drastic participation of the entire political system, leaders of Party committees at all levels, local authorities, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the business community, and especially the people. The people must be the center of protection, the subject of the struggle, and the strength of the people must be mobilized to create a movement. This work must be done regularly, comprehensively, continuously, and without stopping with the motto "handling one case, alerting the whole region and field", "no forbidden areas, no exceptions".

The people must be the center of protection, the subject of the struggle, and must mobilize the strength of the people to form a movement. This work must be done regularly, comprehensively, continuously, and without stopping with the motto "handling one case, alerting the whole region and field", "no forbidden areas, no exceptions"...

Build a nationwide movement to combat smuggling and counterfeit goods. In particular, strictly implement regulations, combat degradation in political ideology, ethics, lifestyle, prevent and combat corruption, negativity, and combat smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods within the functional forces. Launch a high-profile campaign to combat and repel smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and intellectual property infringement nationwide; pay attention to applying smart technology to effectively combat.

To overcome the overlapping of documents, the Ministry of Justice is currently presiding over and coordinating with the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee 389 and relevant ministries and branches to review legal documents and regulations related to the fight against counterfeit and poor quality goods, promptly proposing amendments and supplements to suit the reality.

Regarding this issue, recently, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Giang province has directed departments, branches, districts, towns and cities to continue to promote the fight against trade fraud and counterfeit goods. In particular, there is a new content that requests the Electricity sector to grasp and monitor electricity consumption, if there are unusual signs of establishments and households that do not register for production and business, they need to provide and exchange them with the authorities. This is also one of the important information in detecting counterfeit production and packaging of counterfeit goods. Because all activities are related to electricity use, when there is timely coordination, verification and reconnaissance, it will contribute to detecting and preventing violations.

On May 20, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee issued a decision to establish a Working Group to direct, supervise and urge the work of the peak period of the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods and infringement of intellectual property rights in the province. Implementation period is from May 15 to June 16, 2025.

The representative of the Provincial Consumer Protection Association recommended that people should proactively create a shield for themselves to prevent and repel “fake” goods; before buying, they should carefully examine the labels and use smart devices to trace the origin of the product. Along with the above solution, many opinions suggested that in addition to strictly handling violations of food safety, selling fake, counterfeit, and poor quality goods, there should be measures to deter those who assist and condone dirty food, especially those who hold positions, powers, and participate in false advertising activities. It is necessary to require traceability for health-related products to ensure transparency and safety.

The role of consumers in the fight against counterfeit goods is extremely important. In fact, although people know that they are counterfeit goods, they still turn a blind eye, willing to open their wallets to buy them because they are suitable for economic conditions, are greedy for cheapness, and have a strong preference for branded goods, even if they are counterfeit goods. As long as buyers still nod to counterfeit goods, fake goods, and poor quality goods, these types of goods will still have a "place to live". The provincial police recommend that people need to be vigilant against products sold widely on cyberspace platforms. At the same time, they should report to the authorities when they discover cases of production and trading of goods with signs of violations. In fact, many successful detections and fights are from denunciations and reports from the people.

With the determination of the entire political system, it is hoped that the fight against counterfeit goods will have a strong shift, contributing to strengthening people's trust in the domestic consumer market.

PVKT GROUP

Source: https://baobacgiang.vn/chung-tay-chong-hang-gia-bai-2-cuoc-chien-thuong-xuyen-lien-tuc-khong-co-vung-cam-postid418691.bbg