Department of Homeland Security official website

A typical day for CBP

Performance, accountability and financial reporting

From the air and sea

CBP officials in Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport seized more than 13,500 counterfeit products in a shipment from China

Los Angeles-US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials assigned to the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport coordinated with import experts from the Consumer Goods and Mass Merchandise Sales (CPMM) Center of Excellence and Professionalism and intercepted 13,586 counterfeit brand-name products in containers . Ship from China.

CBP officials found many registered and recorded trademarks on handbags, handbags, shoulder bags, messenger bags, backpacks, shirts and pants, such as Gucci, Chanel, Fendi, YSL and Louis Vuitton.

CBP officials worked with agents of the U.S. Homeland Security Investigation Service (HSI) to seize the cargo on November 9, 2021. If it is a genuine product, the overall estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of the seized goods is US$30,437,775.

"CBP invests a lot of law enforcement resources to prevent counterfeit and pirated goods from entering the U.S. supply chain, markets, and streets," said Carlos C. Martel, director of field operations in Los Angeles. "Now, CBP officials are more vigilant, determined and focused on disrupting these smuggling activities than ever before."

Historically, counterfeit products have been sold on illegal websites and underground stores. The rise of e-commerce provides a safe haven for criminals, who can now hide behind seemingly legitimate lists on well-known websites. The sale of counterfeit goods has doubled the illegal profits of smugglers and traffickers, who reinvest the proceeds of such sales in more criminal enterprises.

“Bad actors use online platforms to sell counterfeit and unsafe products to take advantage of e-commerce operations, especially during the holiday season when shoppers are looking for transactions,” said Donald R. Kusser, director of Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor. "If the price of the product is unbelievably good, that might be the case. The quality of counterfeit goods is usually poor, and it's not even safe for you and your family."

Consumers can take simple steps to protect themselves and their families from counterfeit goods:

Counterfeit clothing, shoes and handbags are usually of poor quality, with poor or uneven stitching, fragile fabrics, and improper logo size or design. Peel-off labels, poor quality ink, or printing errors on the packaging are also signs that the product may be illegal.

The trade of counterfeit and pirated goods threatens the United States’ innovation economy, the competitiveness of enterprises, and in some cases national security, as well as the health and safety of consumers. 

In order to prevent the import of illegal goods and protect American consumers and businesses, CBP has developed a proactive, proactive and dynamic enforcement approach to enforce intellectual property (IPR) enforcement.

In fiscal year 2020, CBP personnel seized 26,503 shipments of counterfeit goods nationwide. If they were genuine, they were estimated to be worth nearly $1.3 billion.

For more information about the risks associated with purchasing counterfeit goods, please visit CBP's Fake Goods, Real Dangers website and read CBP's e-commerce awareness guide. Additional tips on protecting your family from counterfeit goods are available on StopFakes.gov. Right holders who wish to protect their brands from infringing imported goods should record their trademarks and copyrights with CBP on https://iprr.cbp.gov/. 

You can contact CBP through the electronic allegation online trade violation reporting system or call 1-800-BE-ALERT to report suspected violations of intellectual property rights, fraud or illegal trade activities. You can also report violations to the National Intellectual Property Coordination Center through https://www.iprcenter.gov/referral/ or call 1-866-IPR-2060.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security. It is responsible for the comprehensive management, control and protection of our country’s borders, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection between official ports of entry.