ITA Ensures the Recall of Counterfeit Sporting Goods in Egypt
June 21, 2013
(ITA)
The Department of Commerce’s International
Trade Administration (ITA) helped Nike, an
Oregon-based consumer goods firm, overcome a
high-profile intellectual property issue that
risked damaging the company’s market share in
Egypt and its international brand.
Why it matters
Intellectual property contributes significantly
to the US economy and is important to many
industries, including footwear and apparel. The
outcome in this case – the Egyptian Olympic
Committee (EOC) recalled the counterfeit
sporting goods and allowed Nike to provide
genuine products to Egyptian athletes – helped
draw public attention to the importance of
respecting U.S. intellectual property rights.
The problem
The Egyptian Olympic Committee (EOC) published
a tender for the supply of “sports outfits” for
the Egyptian delegation travelling to the 2012
London summer Olympics. The EOC awarded the
contact to an unauthorized distributor, which
provided the athletes with counterfeit uniform
kits. Nike’s authorized distributor in Egypt,
Allied Trading and Consultancy, approached the
EOC on several occasions about replacing the
counterfeit uniforms with the legitimate
product, but failed to receive a response from
the EOC.
The solution
ITA and U.S. embassies in Brussels, Cairo and
London engaged with Nike, the Government of
Egypt and its embassies in Washington, D.C.,
and London. This multi-channel engagement
supported Nike's efforts and resulted in the
EOC’s acceptance of genuine Nike goods for the
Egyptian athletes competing in the London 2012
Summer Olympics. In addition, the Government
of Egypt indicated it will open an
investigation into the EOC procurement
practices.
Working closely with U.S. companies, ITA
creates, expands, and defends market access for
U.S. goods and services overseas through the
Trade Agreements Compliance Program. “We
promote policy that develops a more favorable
business climate for U.S. companies in global
markets; we employ commercial diplomacy to
resolve trade barriers; and we leverage our
bilateral and multilateral trade agreements to
ensure our trading partners live up to their
commitments so that our businesses can compete
on a level playing-field.” - Assistant
Secretary for Market Access and Compliance,
Michael C. Camuńez.
Welcome to the Exporting Source
Your one-stop resource for finding help to export to new customers, to learn about government export programs, to join export-promoting trade missions, to sign up for trade conferences and training, and to link to other exporting services. Whether you're an old hand at exporting or just getting started, the Exporting Source provides a place to locate foreign customers, export financing and foreign investment assistance.