Pirated Goods costs EU businesses $33.3 billion
The Associated Press is reporting that European Union companies are lose €21 billion, or $33.3 billion, to pirated goods each year.
From the AP (via IHT):
Violations of intellectual property rights, trademarks and patents held by EU companies and researchers will be high on the agenda when European Commission President Manuel Barroso leads a large delegation into two days of economic and trade talks in Beijing starting Thursday.
The EU estimates pirated goods cost EU businesses €21 billion (US$33.3 billion) in lost trade annually — about a third of current EU exports to China. But unlike the United States, it has to date not pursued any Chinese piracy cases in the World Trade Organization.
Still, the EU has put China in the category of worst violators of intellectual property. It is the only country in that category because its anti-piracy efforts are so weak that 80 percent of counterfeit goods imported into the 27-nation bloc are Chinese-made.
Other issues include EU complaints that China’s currency is undervalued and has pushed the EU’s trade deficit to €170 billion (US$270 billion) in 2007. The EU also feels investing in China too often means having to launch joint ventures and transfer technology developed by Europeans.