Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, both based in China, have been added to the US government’s list of “notorious market.”
According to the US Trade Representative’s office, the list names 42 online platforms and 35 physical markets that purportedly offer or enable the sale of counterfeit products.
The USTR office claimed in a statement that “this includes identifying for the first time AliExpress and the WeChat e-commerce ecosystem, two large China-based online platforms that apparently support extensive trademark counterfeiting.”
The list continues to include China-based online markets Baidu Wangpan, DHGate, Pinduoduo, and Taobao, as well as nine physical markets in China “that are recognized for the manufacturing, distribution, and sale of counterfeit products,” according to the US Trade Representative’s office.
Alibaba stated that it will seek to collaborate with government authorities to resolve concerns about intellectual property protection on its platforms.
For years, the United States and China have been at odds over trade concerns such as taxes, technology, and intellectual property. According to the US, China has violated some of its obligations under a “Phase 1” trade agreement negotiated by previous President Donald Trump’s administration.
In a second study issued on Wednesday, the US Trade Representative’s office said the US has to develop new tactics and update its domestic trade instruments to deal with China’s “state-led, non-market policies and practices.”
Industry groups such as the American Apparel and Footwear Association and the Motion Picture Association applauded the USTR’s report.
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