Rio, November 22, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Piracy and contraband in Brazil cause annual losses of US$ 20 billion, a sum equivalent to a third of Brazil's exports. The crime affects almost all sectors of the economy and impedes the creation of 1.5 million jobs. Despite these frightening figures, the minister of Justice, Paulo de Tarso Ribeiro, avows that the battle to combat counterfeit products is far from over, chiefly because of the high degree of informality in the economy, which attains 40% in some cities.

Minister Ribeiro participated in the seminar Piracy, Contraband, and Intellectual Property, sponsored by the Federation of Commerce of the State of Rio de Janeiro, where he underlined that the government has been coordinating the suppression of piracy through the Federal Secretariat of Law Enforcement and the Federal Police, but he said that the strategy to combat this type of crime must involve all sectors of society. "Piracy is harmful to economic development, the protection of property in the country, and also the consumer," the minister observed. (DAS)