The Washington, DC-based International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) is pushing for the Philippines’ return to the United States’ Special 301 Watch List for 2025, citing ongoing concerns from rights holders about inadequate infrastructure and political will to enforce intellectual property (IP) rights, documents from the US Trade Representative (USTR) showed.
The USTR’s Special 301 Watch List names the countries with inadequate and ineffective intellectual property (IP) rights protection and enforcement, and those that impose market access or trade barriers detrimental to American rights-holders and businesses.
The Special 301 Watch List is published by the USTR annually, after it identifies the countries with unresolved problems in a yearly review. Countries on the watchlist are subject to monitoring and possible trade sanctions.
IACC and other IP global watchdogs, in separate comments submitted to the USTR, collectively called for better enforcement, streamlined legal processes, and stronger IP protection measures to combat counterfeiting and piracy in the Philippines.
The comments were gathered and posted publicly by the USTR ahead of the release within the next three weeks of the Special 301 report.
The Philippines has been out of the watchlist for 11 years, based on the 2024 report, which the Intellectual Property Office of The Philippines (IPOPHL) described as a positive standing in the global IP community.
The IACC describes itself on its website as a non-profit organization formed in 1979 and devoted solely to combating product counterfeiting and piracy.
In its comments posted in the USTR website, IACC raised issues involving ineffective customs enforcement, lack of follow-up on successful police raids, and rare criminal prosecutions.
As a result, rights holders have been forced to pursue costly private actions, the group said.
IACC specifically pointed to “considerable struggles related to the country’s border enforcement efforts” due to what it perceived as “largely disengaged customs authorities, with an entirely reactive approach to IP enforcement, unwilling to detain or seize goods in the absence of detailed intelligence pertaining to specific shipment.”
The IACC said raids and seizures in the Philippines have often been seen as end in themselves, with little follow-up investigation. Consequently, IACC alleged that criminal prosecutions by public prosecutors have been rare.
The group said some rights holders name the country as the second most troublesome in the entire Asia-Pacific region, behind only China.
In a separate comment, the Footwear Distributors of America (FRDA) cited the Philippines as a market of concern, criticizing the cumbersome process for the destruction of counterfeit goods, which requires separate motions and additional storage fees.
Another entity, the Asia’s Security Group raised illicit tobacco smuggling from Cambodia into the Philippines but did not provide details.
Union Des Fabricants said counterfeiting hubs in the Philippines, such as Divisoria and Greenhills, persist due to slow enforcement and a lack of landlord liability for trademark violations.
The group said customs border controls should be strengthened while the IPOPHL should be given the mandate to conduct raids and collaborate more effectively with police.
The National Association of Manufacturers, meanwhile, said counterfeit products from hubs like China and the Philippines entering markets in Southeast Asia and Africa, pose health risks and unfair competition.
The Philippines is the fourth largest source of counterfeit and pirated goods in the US, according to the group.
