Vietnam has launched a sweeping nationwide crackdown on counterfeit luxury goods, with authorities handling more than 1,400 intellectual property infringement cases in the final three weeks of May alone. The campaign, intensified after the United States designated Vietnam a "priority foreign country" for what it called a persistent failure to protect intellectual property rights — the first such designation in 13 years — has seen police raid warehouses, dismantle counterfeit jewellery rings, and shut market stalls in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. While the crackdown has brought some relief to legitimate local designers, vendors and consumers warn that enforcement remains patchy, with many traders simply moving counterfeit stock to the back of their shops rather than ceasing operations entirely.