CropLife Asia Supports ASEAN, USPTO-led Conference in KL

Over 50 Regulators from all ASEAN-member Countries to Attend Workshop Targeting Illicit Trade of Counterfeit Agricultural Chemicals in Region

Kuala Lumpur, 24 March 2015 – A joint workshop led by the ASEAN Secretariat and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) with support from CropLife Asia commences today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – bringing together over 50 regulators from across all ten ASEAN-member countries.

The three-day event, titled A Workshop on Measures Against Illicit Trade in Counterfeit Agricultural Chemicals, is being held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur and will focus on the impact counterfeits have on the region’s farmers and larger agriculture industry, this includes crop protection products, seeds, fertilizers, and equipment.

Welcoming remarks to open the event are expected to be delivered by representatives from the Malaysia Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, USPTO and the US Embassy – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“Counterfeited agricultural products can be severely harmful to farmers, crops, national economies as well as the environment,” said Dr. Siang Hee Tan, Executive Director of CropLife Asia. “These illegal products have no place in Malaysia and ASEAN, and we’re proud to partner with the Government of Malaysia and all ASEAN-member nations as well as the USPTO to tackle this critical issue. While a great deal of progress has been made, there is certainly much left to do.”

In 2010, the Malaysian CropLife & Public Health Association (MCPA), a member of CropLife Asia, worked closely with the nation’s Department of Agriculture to launch the Combat Illegal Pesticides Campaign which is an ongoing initiative.

The workshop is designed to provide Southeast Asia’s regulators with a venue to discuss agricultural counterfeiting issues, share related experiences from across the region, and engage with experts in the field. Through a broader understanding of counterfeiting specifically in crop protection and seeds, regulators across the region will be provided a perspective of how the issue has impacted the economies of the ASEAN region and how regional cooperation is vital to its resolution.

Among the topics scheduled for discussion during the workshop are: Counterfeit and Illegal Pesticides: A Global Overview; Regulatory Approaches in ASEAN: Regulatory System for Agricultural Quality Control; Challenges to Combating Trade in Counterfeits on the Internet: Crafting Legislation Approaches to Combat Rogue Websites and Online Counterfeiting; and Organized Crime and Trafficking in Counterfeit Products.

Today, Tuesday, 24 March, at 9am brings the opening of the event; and it is scheduled to close the afternoon of Thursday, 26 March following concluding remarks.