Online retail fuelling rapid rise in sales of fake goods, says OECD

Counterfeits worth $590bn a year made up 3.3% of global trade in 2016, report finds

The rise of online platforms for buying and selling goods has fuelled a rapid increase in fake merchandise sold around the world, the value of which has reached $590bn (384.4bn) a year, according to a report.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union's intellectual property office (EUIPO) found illicit goods, from designer handbags to luxury watches, accounted for as much as 3.3% of total international trade in 2016, up from 2.5% ($461bn) in 2013.