On August 5, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee investigating counterfeit crime in the United States said the counterfeit industry is costing the U.S. economy at least $200 billion and 750,000 jobs every year.
Leahy, along with committee member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), is drafting multiple U.S. Senate bills to protect American citizens and the economy from the onslaught of dangerous counterfeits.
The committee met with automotive and pharmaceutical industry experts and product safety researchers, who also expressed their concern for consumer safety.
“A variety of counterfeit products enter the stream of commerce every day, many posing unsuspected serious fire and electrical hazards that endanger the American public,” said Brian Monks, Vice President of Anticounterfeiting for Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.
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