EU-China agreement against counterfeiting

The EU and China have signed a customs cooperation agreement, which is fundamental for the fight against infringements such as fraud and counterfeiting.

The reference to one of the most important problems for industry in Italy and in other EU countries, especially in the textile and clothing sectors, is made in one of the points of the long press release approved at The Hague during the seventh summit between the two parties.

Other parts of the document also make reference to the fact that both parties 'will continue to increase their efforts to prevent the infringement of intellectual property rights', in addition 'to the importance of strengthening the multilateral trading system'.

The press release also states that 'in 2004, China became the European Union's second trading partner'. On its part, China reiterated its 'concern' about obtaining 'full market economy status' for Beijing.

As far as Italy is concerned, two other agreements were signed about trademark counterfeiting: a memorandum of understanding about intellectual property collaboration between Ice and the China Council for the promotion of International Trade, and an agreement for setting up a 'counsel chamber' for disputes arising between companies in the two countries.