The joint force among the Government management agencies, enterprises and consumers must be enhanced in the fight against alarmingly rampant smuggling and counterfeiting. - Photo MoIT

HA NOI(Biz Hub) — The joint force among the Government management agencies, enterprises and consumers must be enhanced in the fight against alarmingly rampant smuggling and counterfeiting.

"Efforts have been made, but not enough," Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said at a conference held by the Market Surveillance Agency yesterday.

The fight against smuggling and counterfeiting must target the roots of the problem, Hai said.

Hai said that tight coordination between management agencies and local authorities in market watching was critical to boost efficiency.

Enterprises must play their part in the battle also, he said, urging them to work closely with management agencies, especially in how to differentiate authentic and counterfeit products.

Experts at the conference agreed that smuggling and counterfeiting were becoming more "sophisticated" in a variety of sectors including food and beverage, cosmetics and electronics.

Meanwhile, the lack of co-ordination, overlap in management, inactiveness of businesses and poor awareness of consumers coupled with light punishments for violations were major reasons why the efficiency of the fight against smuggling and counterfeiting remained below expectation.

Le The Bao, president of the Viet Nam Association for Anti-counterfeiting and Trademark Protection, said that enterprises and business associations played important roles in the battle against counterfeiting.

However, it would be very difficult for businesses to do it alone, Nguyen Anh Ngoc, from intellectual property service firm Investip said.

Ngoc said that to wipe out counterfeit products efficiently, it was important to handle producers and importers of counterfeit products, for which enterprises needed the support of management agencies. Ngoc said that a national steering committee on IP protection and anti-counterfeiting should be founded.

Nguyen Duc Hiep from the Viet Nam Steel Corporation said that stronger punishments on violations must be put in place as a deterrent force, adding that counterfeiting was undermining market shares, and prestige of businesses while eroding the business climate and harming consumers. — VNS