E-commerce sites used by China’s Tencent and Alibaba Group have been included in the US government’s latest list of “notorious markets” for organizations that allegedly sell or facilitate the sale of counterfeit goods, the U.S. office said. Trade Representative on Thursday.
The list identifies 42 online markets and 35 affiliate markets that are reported to be involved in or facilitate trademark fraud or copyright fraud.
“This includes the identification of AliExpress and the WeChat e-commerce ecosystem, two key Chinese markets based in China that reportedly facilitate the making of trademarks,” the USTR office said in a statement.
China-based Internet markets Baidu Wangpan, DHGate, Pinduoduo, and Taobao also continue to be part of the list, with nine Chinese-based markets “known for the production, distribution, and sale of counterfeit goods,” USTR . said the office.
The list highlights online and portable markets that are reported to be engaging or assisting in trademark fraud or copyright infringement.
Alibaba said it would continue to work with government agencies to address problems in the protection of intellectual property in all its forums.
Industrial bodies such as the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and the Motion Picture Association have welcomed the release of the report by the USTR.
The USTR office said in a separate report released Wednesday that the United States needs to adopt new strategies and review its domestic trading tools to address “China-led, non-market-led Chinese policies and procedures.”