Shop Safe, Inform Consumers Acts in House China Package
Two bills that aim to fight the sale of counterfeit goods through e-commerce have been included in the House China package, something House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had called for last year (see 2112150050). While neither was included in the Senate China package, the inclusion of the Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act, known as the Inform Consumers Act, and the Stopping Harmful Offers on Platforms by Screening Against Fakes in E-commerce Act, or Shop Safe Act, in the America Competes Act gives them a reasonable chance of becoming law through the bicameral compromise.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
The Inform Consumers Act would require e-commerce platforms to verify the identity of sellers of a certain size. The Shop Safe Act would require foreign sellers on e-commerce platforms to accept personal jurisdiction in the U.S. and allow themselves to be served in a lawsuit, and would ask platforms to make reasonable efforts to screen for sellers who are likely to sell counterfeit goods.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association said it is pleased to see the provisions in the bill, known in long form as the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength Act, saying they would "establish basic accountability measures that have been missing for far too long." The Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade also praised the inclusion of these provisions. TRACIT Director-General Jeffrey Hardy said, "At a time when most American households are shopping online, SHOP SAFE delivers consumer protection from fraud.”