The US Trade Representative (USTR) recently added websites operated by Chinese technology behemoths Alibaba and Tencent to its “Notorious Markets List” of businesses it believes are involved in the trade of counterfeit goods and the promotion of piracy.
The firms’ 42 websites and 35 physical stores, including e-commerce platforms, were identified by official data. Given that the US and China have had a long-running trade and technology dispute, it’s possible that the new additions to the list were prompted by some underlying cause.
This list includes notable brands such as AliExpress, which is owned by the Alibaba group, and WeChat, which is operated by Tencent. The USTR claimed that AliExpress provided a number of anti-counterfeiting services and systems, but despite the platform’s efforts, they discovered a significant increase in counterfeit goods sold through the website.
Similarly, the US Trade Representative cited WeChat’s e-commerce ecosystem for facilitating the distribution and sale of counterfeit goods.
In a statement, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said, “The global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods undermines critical US innovation and creativity and harms American workers.”
Meanwhile, Tencent issued a statement expressing complete dissatisfaction with the USTR’s decision, stating that the platform is committed to working collaboratively to resolve the matter and has invested significant resources in protecting intellectual property rights as well.
Because the news comes amid the ongoing crises between the United States and China, it will be interesting to see how the situation plays out for the two major China-based e-commerce platforms.
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