Transcript Slide 1
Illegal Parallel Trade
2nd International Conference Counterfeiting & other problems in plant protection product marketing Warsaw - November 13 th, 2008 Gerwin Bouillon
Illegal Parallel Trade ECPA position on Free Trade in the EU We are very much in favour of free trade
supporting Parallel Import regulations
with same regulatory requirements for parallel imports as for original products
Illegal Parallel Trade EU Parallel Import Guideline wording “identical”
due to lack of definition in the guideline there have been lots of different interpretations of the wording “identical” in recent years
clarification by ECJ verdict February 2008 EU Commission versus France result: “identical” means “Common Origin”
Illegal Parallel Trade What ´s the meaning of “Common Origin”??
A Parallel Importer 1. buys a product registered in Greece 2. and sells this same product in Poland, where this product is registered
means: the manufacturer in both countries must be the same!!
Illegal Parallel Trade EU Parallel Import example Germany
approx. 2.300 Parallel Import licences granted
experts opinion: 40-80% are illegal or fakes
Illegal Parallel Trade Examples of illegal & fake Parallel Imports 1. Products without registration in the EU
“classical” forgery of PI-application 2. Products containing active ingredients (a.i
´s) with unknown impurities (> 0,1% registration relevant)
means there are neither toxicological nor eco-toxicological studies (needed for any registration in a EU country)
Illegal Parallel Trade Examples of illegal & fake Parallel Imports 3. Products containing different a.i. (than labelled) 4. Re-use of original manufacturer bottle & label refilling it with illegal & fake product = high criminal energy! “Organised Crime” is more & more involved
Illegal Parallel Trade 4. Re-use of original manufacturer bottle & label
Illegal Parallel Trade 5. Use of EU banned formulation ingredients
Illegal Parallel Trade Examples of illegal & fake Parallel Imports 6. Products with wrong labelling
e.g. DMF 7. Inadequate packaging and re-packaging
leading to leakages
Illegal Parallel Trade Consequences of Illegal Parallel Trade 1. Unacceptable risks & danger for
farmer health
consumer health
the environment 2. Unacceptable
economic damage risk for the farmers
reputation risk for food exporting nations
Illegal Parallel Trade What do we need???
1. We need to avoid and prevent these increased risks for human health and the environment and at the same time 2. We need to support free trade in Europe via Parallel Imports
We need simplified procedures in order to obtain rapid authorisations
Illegal Parallel Trade How to achieve these needs?
1. Maintain “Common Origin” 2. Stop re-packaging
ECPA Anti-Counterfeiting Project Team