Decades ago the aviation industry was shocked to discover a network of bogus aircraft spare parts being sold with what appeared to be the correct authentication for installation in the world's passenger jets. Dodgy parts were even discovered in Air Force One, the President's official aircraft.
It was a chilling discovery. Mundane items such as nuts and bolts that secure the jet engines slung on pods under the wings are manufactured to precision tolerances and must be the correct balance of steel alloys to have the strength to do the job. Because of this, each could cost several hundred dollars. The correct parts come with a seal of authenticity signed by the factory, which must be attached to the plane's servicing record.
Airline safety authorities were horrified to discover a blackmarket industry churning out mild steel versions of such items and introducing them into the spare parts chain with carefully crafted imitations of the proof of manufacture attached. This led to a crackdown in which the authentication requirements were tightened - and a lot of miscreants served prison terms.
Now we are learning that this same trade is churning out dodgy parts for the car trade. Toyota has warned owners of it's vehicles to beware of a replacement being sold as a repair for an air bag fault that can injure drivers if the bag is deployed. It seems that this assembly comes in packaging which contains the Toyota logo and appears to be a genuine Toyota spare part, but it is in fact useless and would not allow the air bag to deploy in an accident.
It is evident that this may be just the tip of the iceberg ! It must be tempting for factories in low cost countries looking for market opportunities to consider producing copies of western goods at a much lower competitive price, or trying to gain a foothold at a higher price by claiming their version is a genuine factory spare part.
In many cases, the buyer simply wastes his or her money because the part quickly fails, but there are many areas of the vehicle that a correctly manufactured item delivers a life or death outcome. Anything to do with the braking system can be critical and even a badly manufactured exhaust and muffler replacement can allow carbon monoxide to leak into the passenger compartment - and kill it's contents !
Imitation items that do not show a manufacturer's logo are a clear case of " buyer beware " ! A car repairer who fits them to a vehicle and charges the price for a genuine part is a crook who should be prosecuted, but we need the connivance of both Customs and DFAT to crack down at the point of entry to refuse admission of goods falsely branded as genuine factory spare parts.
Right now Customs seizes contraband such as Rolex watches that travellers may be wearing but which are imitations bought abroad, and luxury brands of clothing are carefully scrutinized to separate the knockoffs from the genuine article, but it is impossible to fully check every freight container passing through our ports.
It seems that the best tactic would be liaison between the car industry, Customs and DFAT to defeat dangerous counterfeiting. Both the car industry and it's attendant repair industry quickly become aware that dodgy parts are doing the rounds, and these can quickly be traced back to the individual overseas manufacturer.
That should automatically put that entity on a " black list "" that ensures all further consignments face the expense and delay of a full customs check - and where counterfeit is detected - the goods are seized, taken to a landfill and destroyed.
Being " black listed " would quickly become something to be feared. It would mean that goods of all nature would in future face rigorous checking - and with that the delay that importers dread because sales are often geared to seasonal peaks or buying fads. It would quickly become a powerful incentive to avoid any branding that could be construed as suggesting that the item is approved by the product brand owner.
Selective methods of import control are probably the best way to stamp out deceptive goods that pose a public threat !
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