US government included E-commerce sites operated by China’s Tencent and Alibaba Group to its latest “notorious markets” list of entities that apparently sell or facilitate the sale of counterfeit goods, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office (USTR) said on Thursday.
42 online markets and 35 physical markets, reported to participate in or enable substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy are part of this list.
"This includes identifying for the first time AliExpress and the WeChat e-commerce ecosystem, two significant China-based online markets that reportedly facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting," the USTR office said in a statement.
Alibaba said it will continue working with government agencies to address concerns in intellectual property protection in its platforms.
Tencent strongly disagreed with the decision and said they are "committed to working collaboratively to resolve this matter". The firm said it its platform is actively monitored, and always acted upon violations across its platforms. They have also invested significant resources into intellectual property rights protection.
Inclusion on the list is a blow to the reputation of companies but carries no direct penalties.
American Apparel, Footwear Association (AAFA), Motion Picture Association welcomed the release of the report by the USTR.
The United States and China have been engaged in trade tensions for years over issues like tariffs, technology, and intellectual property.
US said China had failed to make commitments under a so-called "Phase 1" trade agreement signed by the administration of former President Donald Trump.
-Reuters