U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Louisville, Kentucky, intercepted a shipment from China containing hundreds of counterfeit luxury watches that, if real, would be worth more than $54 million, the agency exclusively told The Epoch Times on Tuesday.
Part of border officers’ wide scope of responsibility and enforcement is recognizing intellectual property rights (IPR) violations, which have seen a sharp increase in recent years in the total amount of items seized, according to the latest CBP data.
“Intellectual property theft threatens America’s economic vitality and funds criminal activities and organized crime,” Louisville Port Director Philip Onken said. “Our officers protect private industry and consumers by removing these kinds of shipments from our commerce.”
The counterfeit watches from Hong Kong were seized on June 18 by officers at the Port of Louisville. Their final destination was a residence in New York.
Officers pulled the shipment for inspection and found 375 Audemars Piguets, a Swiss luxury watch, that were deemed inauthentic for bearing counterfeit versions of registered trademarks, CBP said.
That determination was made by CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise, the agency’s trade experts. There are 10 of these centers across the country, which aim to increase trade compliance, resolve issues, and bolster CBP’s ability to protect the economy.
Illegitimate sales and IPR theft are among the most profitable transnational crimes, according to CBP, which undermine legitimate businesses not just in the United States but worldwide.
Fake items being pawned off to U.S. citizens can include medications, perfumes, cosmetics, fashion, jewelry, electronics, automotive parts, and children’s toys and costumes, CBP said. These could pose dire health and safety risks because the items are often made with inferior and harmful materials.
According to the latest data available, the total number of items seized for IPR violations from fiscal years 2022 to 2025 has more than doubled from 24.8 million to 78.4 million.
The total manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or the true price of a genuine item, on goods seized for IPR violations in fiscal year 2025 was $7.4 billion.
In fiscal year 2021, the amount was $3.3 billion. The following two years remained low, decreasing to $3 billion in 2022, to $2.8 billion in 2023, then rising to $5.4 billion in 2024.
CBP has also achieved historic amounts in drug seizures and record lows in illegal crossings. Officials have told The Epoch Times that a strict approach to the border and immigration by the Trump administration has contributed to their success, as opposed to more lenient policies under the prior administration.
“When you look at the point of where we are now compared to the course we were on previously, we are increasing our numbers and seizures. A lot of it has to do with the resource factors,” said Office of Field Operations Director Sidney Aki for the San Diego Sector of the border. “Now, instead of our officers focusing on humanitarian efforts, helping on asylum processing and things of that nature, we are now refocusing on enforcement.”
The most consistent culprit in IPR seizures from fiscal year 2025 was China, according to CBP’s data.
China leads all other nations in both total items seized, with more than 52 million items, and total manufacturer’s suggested retail price, $6.4 billion.
By manufacturer’s suggested retail price, the top commodity seized for IPR violations in fiscal year 2025 was jewelry at $3.2 billion, followed by watches at $1.5 billion, and handbags or wallets at more than $978 million.
If arranged by total number of items seized for IPR violations, stamps top the list at more than 11 million, followed by tobacco products at 10.8 million, and packaging and boxes at 4.2 million.
