Lynn: “Forgeries are a cancer eating away at the fabric of our economy"

The conference was also informed that the counterfeiting industry was not only harming Israel’s reputation, but also causing loss of revenue from customs tariffs, VAT and income tax
 
Uriel Lynn, President of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, addressed last week a strong complaint to the Minister of Justice, Haim Ramon, asking him to take the necessary tough actions against fraudsters which have become a national problem.
 
Lynn asked Ramon to urgently take necessary steps that the dangerous drugs ordinance be extended to cover offenders convicted of forging drugs & pharmaceutical products.
 
Lynn signed off his letter arguing that “Forgeries and intellectual property violations are a cancer eating away at the fabric of the economy.”
 
The letter was sent to the Minister following a one day conference held at the Chamber of Commerce and dealt with issues of forgeries and public health.
 
The conference was organized by the umbrella association for the war against forgeries, which has been operating under the auspices of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce since 1999.
 
The conference was presented with a report published by TSI and which point out that Israel is ranked 8th in pharmaceutical product counterfeiting.
 
The report also noted that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classed Israel along with China, India and Mexico as countries suspected of exporting counterfeit pharmaceuticals & drugs.
 
The conference was also informed that the counterfeiting industry was not only harming Israel’s reputation, but also causing loss of revenue from customs tariffs, VAT and income tax, amounting to sums that, according to the importers “would solve all the country’s poverty problems.”