WASHINGTON, DC — Scott Emmer, brand protection manager for Federal-Mogul, testified yesterday on behalf of the auto parts industry before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. Emmer asked the government to help stop the growing influx of counterfeit goods coming in to the country from China.

“We ask for your help in combating product counterfeiting with diligent enforcement and constructive discussion with the Chinese government for the good of our company, our industry, our customers and the general public,” said Emmer, a member of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association’s (MEMA) Brand Protection Council.

Also testifying before the subcommittee were representatives from the National Association of Manufacturers, and the pharmaceutical and grocery industries. One of the members of the subcommittee, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), knows all too well the problems many of his constituents are having battling counterfeiting.

“This is an issue that directly hurts the competitiveness of legitimate automotive parts manufacturers both here and abroad,” Rogers said. “In addition to competing against legitimate companies on a global basis in what has become an industry with extremely tight margins, U.S. manufacturers must now compete with a criminal element that has no regard for consumer safety or American job loss.”

Emmer told the committee, “Federal-Mogul Corporation is proud to be part of a network of thousands of automotive suppliers in the United States providing the technologies and products that go into making and servicing the safest and most technologically advanced motor vehicles available anywhere in the world. Today, our company and our industry are helping to keep drivers safe and enjoying better technologies and products for their motor vehicles year after year.”

“Our industry wants to continue our record of providing safety and value to American consumers, but we need the U.S. government’s assistance and involvement,” he added. “We believe in the integrity of the U.S. market and we aim to do our part to keep it that way. But we need help in stopping counterfeiters across the globe from exporting fake product to America.”

Emmer explained how automotive suppliers are equipped to compete in the global market, but that now U.S. companies are forced to not just compete against other legitimate manufacturers, but also against a strong, determined group of counterfeiters that makes money by stealing brand names and producing inferior products. Many of these products pose safety hazards.

“Inferior counterfeit products can ruin years of hard work and investment,” Emmer said. “Destruction of a producer’s brand name and good reputation in the market from counterfeit products can be even more serious to a supplier over the long term than the direct loss of sales. Furthermore, legitimate American manufacturers cannot get a foothold in the Chinese market, or in other markets, where counterfeiters get deep market coverage and exist out in the open.

“The automotive industry is willing to support the U.S. government to be more than just defensive against this growing problem,” Emmer added. “Together, we can track the counterfeit products back to their source. We appreciate all the efforts the government has made up to this point, but believe more can be done to protect the U.S. manufacturing industry and the public.”

Emmer also asked the committee to support efforts by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to study global counterfeiting. The study would measure the impact of counterfeiting activity, which is very difficult to do. According to a 1998 report from the Federal Trade Commission, counterfeiting of automotive parts is a $12 billion global problem; $3 billion alone in the United States. MEMA believes these numbers are extremely conservative due to the ramp up of Chinese manufacturing over the past several years.

The House of Representatives recently passed by unanimous consent HR 32, “The Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act,” which was strongly supported by MEMA and its Brand Protection Council. MEMA is currently working on similar action in the Senate.

Editor’s Note: Hear more from Rep. Mike Rogers on the counterfeiting issue in an upcoming interview on aftermarketNews.com. Stay tuned!

For more information, go to: www.mema.org.

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