Europe's "long battle" against fake goods from China has become even more difficult with the upsurge in online shopping, where fraudulent and often dangerous products were being sold, an EU official said Tuesday.

"The biggest, most worrying border is between China and your home," said Ernesto Bianchi, head of the investigations directorate in the EU's anti-fraud office OLAF that tackles customs fraud and counterfeit goods.

Bianchi, speaking at a news conference summing up OLAF's work last year, was quick to point out however that he was referring to "gangs of fraudsters" in China, and not China itself.

"They are affected as we are also" by fraud, he said, noting that criminal organisations often used the same trade channels to smuggle unwanted toxic waste from the West into China.

OLAF has had successes blocking shoddy Chinese ripoffs -- including a five-million-euro ($5.5-million) shipment of counterfeit shampoo seized earlier this year with the help of Colombian and Mexican authorities.

But Bianchi said investigators were caught in a constant cat-and-mouse game with criminal groups which adapted quickly against law enforcement.

Of all the counterfeit products coming out of China, pesticides made from toxic chemicals "are the most scary of them all," he said, jeopardising the health of humans -- and also of bees, threatening whole ecosystems.

The rise of internet shopping has added an extra level of complication, not only for the fight against fake goods but also for cracking down on customs duty evasion.

While OLAF already has its hands full tracking and stopping big cargoes of illicit shipments, the explosion of online sales -- from for instance Amazon or its Chinese rival Alibaba -- has made sleuthing even more difficult.

"We think the fraud pattern has shifted to e-commerce," Bianchi said.

Internet titans are already in the EU's sights for antitrust and data breaches, with Amazon and Google both fined for breaking European rules.

Related Links
Global Trade News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

US tech industry cool on Trump deal on France digital tax
Washington (AFP) Aug 27, 2019
A US trade group representing major technology firms on Tuesday denounced an agreement on France's digital tax announced by Presidents Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron that leaves the levy in place until a new international taxation plan takes effect. The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) reacted a day after Trump and Macron agreed on a plan that would see France scrap its digital tax once a new international levy being discussed is in place. "France's unilateral digital tax ... read more