US adds WeChat and AliExpress to its list of online fraud

(CMR) Alibaba and Tencent, two of China's largest e-commerce companies, have been placed on the United States list of businesses engaged in alleged online fraud.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released the findings of its 2021 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (The Notorious Markets List) last week.

The 2021 Notorious Markets List also identifies 42 online markets and 35 physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy. 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.

Also, China-based online markets Baidu Wangpan, DHGate, Pinduoduo, and Taobao continue to be listed, as well as nine physical markets located within China known for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of counterfeit goods.

Since 2011, the US Trade Representative's yearly list has been a valuable tool for putting pressure on non-US businesses to modify their practices, Pirate Press reported.

“[The list] leads to exchange of best practices around how firms can deal with what's going to be an ever-increasing difficulty, which is the counterfeiters, the bad actors who are using these platforms,” said Robert Holleyman, a former USTR official under Obama.

“It leads to sharing of best practices around how companies can deal with what's going to be an ever-increasing challenge, which is the counterfeiters, the bad actors who are using these platforms,” Holleyman added.

“US employees are being harmed by the worldwide trade in counterfeit and pirated goods. These counterfeit items can pose major health and safety dangers to customers and employees throughout the world because of the illegal trade's vulnerability to exploitative labor practices.” Ambassador Katherine Tai said.

The United States has reportedly been employing a wide range of measures to try and rein in China's growing might. Trump's tariffs were the most draconian on Chinese-made and imported items, and the two have had a falling out ever since.