The United States President Donald Trump's administration has listed Kenya among the countries that lack proper enforcement structures to curb the entry of counterfeit goods.
The US government, in its 2025 Special 301 Report released on Tuesday, April 29, by the US Trade Representative, revealed that Kenya has weak intellectual property (IP) enforcement, which allows fake products to flood the market.
These counterfeit products include semiconductors, chemicals, medicines, automotive and aircraft parts, food and beverages, household consumer products, personal care products, apparel and footwear, toys, and sporting goods.
Most of the counterfeit products that illegally access the Kenyan market are mainly from Asian countries, including China, Chile, India, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
According to the US government, the counterfeits are shipped either directly to purchasers or indirectly through transit hubs and taken to third-country markets such as Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, and Russia.
"As more brands have shifted production from China to Southeast Asia, countries such as Vietnam have become more prominent as manufacturers of counterfeit products," the US government said.
"The problem of trademark counterfeiting continues on a global scale and involves the production, transhipment, and sale of a vast array of fake goods," it added.
In particular, the US government expressed concerns with the proliferation of counterfeit pharmaceuticals that it claimed were manufactured, sold, and distributed by numerous trading partners.
As per the report, the top countries of origin for counterfeit pharmaceuticals seized at the US border in Fiscal Year 2024 were India, China, including Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore.
India, Kenya and Nigeria were also listed among countries with the most flawed Collective Management Organisations (CMOs), entities that manage copyrights for multiple entities.
"Unfortunately, CMO systems in several countries are reportedly flawed or non-operational. In some countries, like India, Kenya, and Nigeria, withdrawals of, or changes in, a CMO’s authorisation to operate leave right holders in defunct CMOs and music users confused over whom to pay," the report highlighted.
The report comes even as Kenya's Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) is actively engaged in crackdowns to combat counterfeit products, particularly targeting agricultural inputs and other goods.
ACA's operations include seizing counterfeit products, disrupting the supply chain, and enforcing legal consequences for people nabbed dealing in counterfeit products.
