Support for the Informs Act, House Bill 272 - Walmart (June 9, 2021)

Summary

A June 9, 2021 letter to Chairman Stein of the House Commerce & Labor Committee, 134th General Assembly, stating Walmart's complete support of the Informs Act, House Bill 272. The letter cites the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as estimating that counterfeit and pirated goods represent more than $500 billion in global trade. It states that Walmart employs 48,944 associates in Ohio across 172 retail locations and will spend $17 billion with Ohio based suppliers supporting an additional 138,000 Ohio jobs. The closing names Glenda Fleming Wills, Senior Vice President, North Division.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Full text

June 9, 2021


The Honorable Dick Stein
Chairman, House Commerce & Labor Committee
134th General Assembly

Dear Chairman Stein:
On behalf of over 48,000 Associates in Ohio, I am writing you today
to emphasize our complete support of the Informs Act – House Bill
272. This important legislation would increase transparency and accountability for
online marketplaces and protect your constituents. The legislation addresses the serious
concern of counterfeit goods and stolen property sold via online marketplace platforms
while offering essential protections for consumers in Ohio.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has estimated that counterfeit and pirated goods now
represent more than $500 billion in global trade1. In recent years, seizures of infringing goods at U.S.
borders have increased significantly to nearly 33,000 in FY20192. In some instances, items are falsely
labeled, made from substandard materials, or do not meet U.S. safety regulations.
As both a brick-and-mortar retailer and an online marketplace operator, we believe the seller disclosure
and verification requirements within the legislation are best practices for all marketplaces and are needed
to empower consumers and law enforcement officials to reduce fraudulent sales. The legislation does
not harm law-abiding small sellers but rather would make it harder for bad actors who deceive and
defraud customers in Ohio to compete with lawful sellers.
Federal and state laws are already in place and enforced against brick-and-mortar retailers who sell
fraudulent items in a physical retail environment. As DHS notes, “the U.S. brick-and-mortar retail store
economy has a well-developed regime for licensing, monitoring, and otherwise ensuring the protections
of intellectual property rights…”3 This legislation addresses the problem of insufficient transparency and
accountability that is specific to online marketplaces that do not adhere to best practices of seller
information disclosure and verification.
As I mentioned, Walmart is proud to employ 48,944 associates in Ohio across 172 retail locations. We will
also spend $17 billion with Ohio based suppliers supporting an additional 138,000 Ohio jobs. Maintaining
the trust and confidence of our both our in-store and online customers is essential to our business – we
believe all online marketplaces should do the same.
Thank you for your consideration of this practical legislative solution that will help reduce the sale of
stolen and pirated items through online marketplaces and protect Ohio consumers.
Sincerely,




Glenda Fleming Wills - Senior Vice President, North Division

1
  U. S. Department of Homeland Security. (2020). “Combatting Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods:
Report to the President of the United States.”
2
  Ibid.
3
  Ibid.


File and source

File

2021-06-09_commerce-labor_testimony_hb272prowalmartwritten.pdf

Size

433,229 bytes

SHA-256

fde5148c0c40a8b502180325cc6d50c925566eef852e2750027d509372f0a8d1

Our copy

2021-06-09_commerce-labor_testimony_hb272prowalmartwritten.pdf

Original

No public link identified.