Prior to the announcement of Donald Trump’s tariffs, which imposed a 10% surcharge on Brazilian imports this week, Brazil was already targeted by the United States, along with 18 countries due to counterfeit products.
In the report of the United States Commercial Representation Office in January, entitled “Notorious Markets for Falsification and Piracy”, there is a chapter dedicated to the region of 25 de Março Street, in the center of São Paulo.
The region, quoted with other areas of commerce such as Santa Ifigenia Street, the Brás neighborhood, the Pagé Gallery and the Fair of Madrugada, for example, is pointed out in the report as “notorious” for selling fake and pirated products.
The survey says that there are over a thousand stores selling counterfeit goods of all kinds, including consumer electronics, clothes, shoes, glasses, perfumes, fashion accessories, for example.
According to the holders of the original brands, it is one of the largest wholesalers and retailers of counterfeit products in Brazil and Latin America, says the report.
Edson Vismona, president of the National Forum Against Piracy and Illegality (FNCP), considers that this type of US report is presented every year and often refers to the General Preference System (SGP), which evaluates the granting of tariff benefits based on criteria such as intellectual property protection.
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Recent changes in US tariff criteria are global range and are not directly related to the issue of intellectual property, says Visemona. This is a much broader context. “Still, it is undeniable that the illicit market ends up being a relevant factor in this scenario,” he says.
With the increase in taxation, the prices of legal products should rise, which favors the advance of the illegal market, notes the president of FNCP.
In the entity’s accounts, the country lost last year R $ 468 billion with illegality, considering smuggling, falsification and piracy in 15 sectors of the economy. The figure includes direct industry losses and fiscal dropout. “In a decade, the most quadrupled damage,” says Vismona.
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March 25 Shopkeepers
In a statement, UNIVINCO25, an entity that represents tenants in the 25 March, says that “it is not fair to generalize the entire region as one of the main outbreaks of piracy, when the reality of most traders is serious, committed and legalized work.”
The entity recognizes that there may be isolated points with irregular products in unauthorized street commerce and galleries, as occurs in large shopping centers around the world.
However, it points out that the activity is “constantly supervised and fought by the actions of the delegated activity, in partnership with the municipal and state government”.
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Claudia Urias, executive director of Univinco25, who signs the statement, says regret that the 25 March region – one of Brazil’s most traditional trading centers – is cited in the report as one of the main piracy incentive centers.