Vietnam has launched a major anti-counterfeit push. A raid outside Ho Chi Minh City seized more than 23,000 pairs of counterfeit slippers, including copies of well-known footwear and luxury brands.

What brought on the raid

Vietnam has long been known as a global hub for fake luxury goods. Pressure finally came from outside. In April 2026, the US designated Vietnam a “Priority Foreign Country” for IP violations, the first time in 13 years that any country has received that label.

Facing the threat of fresh tariffs, Vietnam responded fast. A nationwide enforcement campaign launched within days, targeting counterfeit goods, online piracy, and trademark infringement across every major city.

Enforcement went into overdrive

  • More than 1,400 IP infringement cases handled in the campaign’s first three weeks, with 28 escalated to criminal prosecution.
  • 67,937 counterfeit and IP violations detected nationwide in the first half of 2026, up 36.7% from the year before.
  • $367 million collected by the state in fines and enforcement penalties, a 50% jump from the previous year.

And yet the market keeps breathing

A $500 replica T-shirt can still sell for $17 in Saigon Square. Vendors display fewer branded items up front, then keep stock in the back. Manufacturers tweak a logo just enough to dodge liability. Nike becomes Mike, and the product ships anyway.

Raids remove some products. They do not always remove the pipeline.

Enforcement that stops at the storefront is never enough

Every seized shipment has an origin. Every market stall has a wholesaler behind it, and every wholesaler has a manufacturer behind them. If enforcement only touches the last link in that chain, the chain grows a new one.

The brands that actually gain ground treat every takedown as intelligence: mapping the networks, identifying high-value targets, and disrupting supply before it reaches a shelf or a listing.

Counterfeit networks do not disappear after a raid. They move, adapt, and reappear somewhere else. Real brand protection is not measured in raids. It is measured in networks dismantled, sources identified, and pipelines that never recover.

Bridge helps brands detect threats earlier, map the networks behind them, and take action before counterfeits scale.

Sources: BBC News; USTR 2026 Special 301 Report; Vietnam News Agency; Bloomberg.