According to the Notorious Markets report issued by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, markets identified in many countries “unfairly take from American workers, diminishing the value and saleability of their work and threatening their jobs.”
Targeting San Juan de Dios and Tepito, the US Trade Representative notes: “Both markets are rife with pirated and counterfeit goods, including music CDs, DVDs, video games, other software, clothing, shoes and electronics and are known throughout Mexico and the region as centers of counterfeiting and piracy, and exemplify the type of market that sustains counterfeiting and piracy around the world. Press reports indicate links to transnational and domestic organized crime groups. Eradicating piracy and counterfeiting in these markets requires sustained government-sponsored enforcement action.”Publishing the Notorious Markets report “helps the United States and foreign governments prioritize enforcement of the intellectual property rights that protect job-supporting innovation and creativity in the United States and around the world,” the U.S. Trade Representative said.
Despite periodic police raids and confiscations of counterfeit merchandise at San Juan de Dios – one of the largest covered markets in Latin America – proprietors are not deterred from continuing to trade in pirated products. Often, the same vendors can be seen back in business the day following a raid, their stalls fully restocked with counterfeit goods.