Eli Clemens

Chinese online marketplaces like AliExpress and Temu often list counterfeits of American products while limiting search engine indexing, making it difficult for rights holders to detect infringements. The U.S. Trade Representative should include these platforms on the 2025 Notorious Markets List and consider indexing transparency as a criterion for future listings.

Advanced manufacturers based in East Asia are expanding investment into the U.S. economy. Yet, many of their internal value chains remain anchored in China, giving the PRC significant leverage over U.S. interests. U.S. policymakers should respond both defensively and offensively.

If the USTR is serious about protecting U.S. consumers and businesses from copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting, it should designate Chinese online platforms Temu, AliExpress, and SHEIN as notorious markets.

China has failed to meet its commitments under the U.S.-China POA. It is not a reliable trade partner, as potential commitments to reverse its predatory practices are antithetical to its long-term techno-economic project.

Certain Chinese companies obscure their ownership and strategic intent in the U.S. economy, gaining access to markets, talent, intellectual property, and subsidies. These practices advance China’s industrial and military goals and necessitate stronger oversight measures.

A productive approach to emerging workplace technologies would focus on two overarching goals: 1) accelerating development, testing, and adoption, and 2) supporting positive uses of the technology while mitigating negative ones.

ITIF recommends that USTR include Temu, AliExpress, and SHEIN on the 2025 Notorious Markets List because all three platforms meet USTR’s criteria as notorious online markets. They facilitate systemic trafficking in counterfeit goods, harming U.S. right holders, undermining fair competition, and placing U.S. consumers at risk.

Chinese e-commerce platforms facilitate sales of counterfeit products, threatening U.S. intellectual property, fair competition, and consumer safety. Policymakers should take action to hold these platforms accountable and protect American consumers and businesses.

The OECD guidelines are a critical step in shaping how global e-commerce operates. But unless they reflect the geopolitical and regulatory asymmetries that define today’s counterfeit trade, they will fall short of their ambition.

State bans on data-driven pricing could backfire by eliminating personalized discounts that help consumers. A better approach is to enforce existing laws, pass federal privacy rules, and clarify what fair pricing looks like.

Chinese e-commerce platforms are profiting from large-scale design theft that undermines independent creators on sites like Etsy. U.S. policymakers should respond with stronger IP enforcement and trade regulations to protect the American creative economy.

In Law360, Eli Clemens argues that international anti-counterfeiting efforts must directly confront China’s central role in the counterfeit trade, or risk rendering global enforcement guidelines ineffective.

Watch now for a panel discussion on how data and technology can create safer, healthier, and more productive workplaces, and the policies needed to encourage adoption while protecting workers.

Watch now for an expert panel discussion on the role of Chinese e-commerce platforms in facilitating counterfeiting, what this means for U.S. competitiveness, consumer trust, and global trade, and the steps policymakers should take to safeguard American innovators and consumers.

Eli Clemens submitted written remarks about how the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) can use AI to focus its mission at the CPSC's FY26/FY27 Priorities Hearing.

Eli Clemens speaks as a panelist at the 2025 North America Product Safety Training Workshop hosted by the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization.

Eli Clemens spoke at a stakeholder roundtable discussion hosted by the OECD and the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Clemens urged the OECD to confront China's role as the main source of counterfeit goods in global ecommerce.

Eli Clemens speaks about OECD's Draft Voluntary Guidelines for Countering Illicit Trade in Counterfeit Goods on Online Marketplaces at a roundtable discussion hosted by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Watch now for a discussion with experts on e-commerce regulation, logistics, and policy as they explored the growth of Chinese e-commerce platforms, their impact on U.S. businesses and consumers, and how policymakers and industry leaders should respond.