US Customs snares 1,720 counterfeit Chinese batteries in Puerto Rico

SOME 1,072 fake rechargeable deep cycle lead batteries have been seized by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the port of San Juan. There is big demand in Puerto Rico for lead batteries as they are used in solar energy backup systems.

These counterfeit batteries displayed a 'Reverse RU,' a trademark owned by Spanish battery manufacturer Rekoser. Based on a CBP photo of the seizure, the battery markings indicate the products originated in China. Genuine batteries of that type are estimated by CBP to carry a total retail price of US$208,068, reported American Shipper.



'Counterfeiters piggyback on a brand to sell an inferior quality product or that which does not meet the industry safety standards,' said CBP's assistant director of field operations for trade Leida Colon in a statement.



In fiscal year 2018, the agency seized 33,810 shipments containing goods that violated intellectual property rights. The genuine equivalents of these products would have been valued at $1.4 billion.



'The work of customs and other enforcement agencies to prevent the import and distribution of fake goods is critical to fair trade and highly valued and supported by our industry,' said the Chicago-based Battery Council International (BCI) Lisa Dry.



BCI estimates that in the US, lead acid batteries are used in 275 million cars and trucks and support a communications network valued at $1 trillion. According to a BCI study, the lead acid battery industry in 2018 directly supported 24,700 manufacturing, mining and recycling jobs, plus 170 research and development jobs, across the US.


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