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  protection and enforcement of trade secrets. Pursuant to the proposal, participating APEC economies returned survey responses, information from which was presented in a report endorsed by the IPEG in early 2015. The United States will continue to lead this initiative toward the identification of best practices and trade secret protection in APEC economies, as well as other efforts, in the coming year.

Under its practice of conducting trade preference program reviews, USTR, in coordination with other U.S. Government agencies, reviews IPR practices in connection with the implementation of Congressionally-authorized trade preference programs, such as the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, and regional programs, including the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), and Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), and works with trading partners to address any policies and practices that may adversely affect their eligibility. 

USTR, in coordination with other U.S. Government agencies, looks forward to continuing engagement with trading partners in bilateral, regional, plurilateral, and multilateral fora to improve the global IPR environment. In addition to the work described above, the United States anticipates engaging with its trading partners on IPR-related initiatives in multilateral and regional fora such as the G-8, WIPO, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the World Customs Organization (WCO). In addition, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is interested in exploring opportunities for tangible cooperation on improving IPR border enforcement. These opportunities could include sharing best practices and customs-to-customs information exchange for use in risk management and enforcement actions, and conducting joint customs enforcement operations designed to interdict shipments of IPR-infringing goods destined for the United States.

The problems of trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy continue on a global scale and involve the mass production and sale of a vast array of fake goods and a range of copyright-protected content pirated in various forms. Counterfeited goods include semiconductors and other electronics, chemicals, automotive and aircraft parts, medicines, food and beverages, household consumer products, personal care products, apparel and footwear, toys, and sporting goods.

Consumers, legitimate producers, and governments are harmed by trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. Consumers may be harmed by fraudulent and potentially dangerous counterfeit products, particularly medicines, automotive and airplane parts, and food and beverages that may not be subjected to the rigorous "good manufacturing practices" used for legitimate products. Producers and their employees face diminished revenue and investment incentives, an adverse employment impact, and loss of reputation when consumers purchase fake 12