For the first time since 2017, Spain has been removed from the “Notorious Markets List 2020,” a blacklist compiled annually by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) that highlights online and physical markets that allegedly engage in or facilitate significant trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy.
After three consecutive years of including the “La Jonquera” market in Girona on the blacklist for selling counterfeit goods, Spain is no longer on the counterfeit blacklist. However, U.S. authorities emphasize that such activities have declined in many physical markets due to the lack of tourism and other circumstances caused by the pandemic; therefore, they will continue to monitor these markets and may reassess them should such infringing activities resurface.
In the previous report from 2019, the U.S. government called on Spain to commit to adopting a comprehensive approach to addressing the situation in the Els Límits area, in the Girona municipality of La Jonquera, where foreign nationals were flocking in large numbers to buy counterfeit goods.
Thanks to the joint efforts of the various agencies involved in combating the sale and distribution of counterfeit goods in Spain (the Customs Surveillance Agency, the National Police, and, in particular, the Civil Guard), Spain has been removed from this shameful list. Congratulations to all of them for their ongoing efforts in the fight against counterfeiting!
Removing Spain from the counterfeit blacklist will prevent Spain's trade interests with the United States from being affected.
Access the 2020 Report on Markets Notorious for Counterfeiting and Piracy [in English]
Author: Juan José Caselles