A comprehensive solution is needed.

(Baonghean)With the aim of understanding the situation regarding law enforcement in the fight against smuggling, counterfeit goods, substandard goods, and trade fraud in the province, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Provincial People's Council recently conducted a monitoring visit on the fight against smuggling, counterfeit goods, and trade fraud at several units. The visit highlighted several difficulties…

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Huy, Chairman of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee and the standing agency of the "Vietnamese People Prioritize Using Vietnamese Goods" campaign in Nghe An province, counterfeit, imitation, and substandard goods without clear origins are rampant in the market, becoming an "undercurrent" affecting people's health and social welfare, causing public outrage. According to Mr. Tran Dang Ninh, Head of the Provincial Market Management Department, no large-scale production "dens" or "groups" of counterfeit, imitation, and substandard goods have been discovered in the province; they are mainly transported from other localities or smuggled in from abroad.

Currently, authorities have discovered several establishments that manufacture counterfeit and fake goods of major brands for market distribution. Meanwhile, the control of counterfeit and substandard goods by relevant agencies remains limited. The perennial problem stems from insufficient personnel, a vast geographical area, a wide variety of goods, and inadequate equipment. The Market Management Department, responsible for inspecting and controlling the market and combating smuggling, prohibited goods, and counterfeiting throughout the province, has a total staff of only 110 people.

Furthermore, tools for identifying counterfeit and substandard goods are not available, making it impossible to determine whether an item is fake or substandard based solely on visual inspection. Determining the quality of an item requires sending samples to Hanoi for testing, incurring significant costs and long waiting times, hindering the efforts of authorities in combating counterfeit and substandard goods. On the other hand, legitimate businesses themselves lack the responsibility to protect their products and safeguard their own interests.

The Legal Affairs Committee of the Provincial People's Council, together with the Provincial Market Management Department, supervised the quality of goods at the Vinh City Commercial Center.

Mr. Chu Quang Luan, Director of the Nghe An Customs Department, stated: “Although regulations stipulate that businesses have the right to submit documents requesting authorities to monitor intellectual property rights for their products, businesses have not paid attention to this. Recently, during customs procedures, we discovered two counterfeit items and informed the businesses to determine if their products infringed on intellectual property rights, but neither business responded or cooperated. Therefore, Customs had no basis to recall and destroy the products. On the consumer side, some lack the ability to identify counterfeit, imitation, and substandard goods (due to their sophisticated designs), some are too lenient in their purchasing decisions, and some have a preference for cheap goods… inadvertently, all are contributing to the growth of the trade in counterfeit, imitation, and substandard goods.”

To curb counterfeit, fake, and substandard goods, three key elements are needed: human resources, means (machinery, measuring equipment, and tools for identifying counterfeit and substandard goods), and funding. In addition, it's crucial to focus on raising consumer awareness through education, leading to a boycott of counterfeit and substandard goods; and to strengthen coordination among different levels and functional sectors, as individual efforts are insufficient. An equally important solution is the active participation of businesses. Businesses must not neglect the management and monitoring of their goods sales by exercising their intellectual property rights before law enforcement agencies, and simultaneously provide consumers with information to distinguish genuine products from counterfeit, fake, and substandard goods. Combating counterfeiting should not be considered solely the responsibility of law enforcement agencies.

The fight against counterfeit, fake, and substandard goods requires the concerted efforts of the entire society. As a responsible elected body, and based on listening to the concerns, feedback, and suggestions of constituents, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Provincial People's Council recently conducted a monitoring visit on the fight against smuggling, counterfeit, substandard goods, and commercial fraud in several sectors and localities within the province. Through this monitoring, the Legal Affairs Committee identified shortcomings, difficulties, and obstacles in this work faced by various forces; based on this, it is proposing that the Provincial People's Council consider and decide on several issues arising from practical realities at the upcoming session to bring this work into order and protect the rights of consumers in the province.

Text and photos: Minh Chi