WASHINGTON—Following the release of the 2025 Notorious Markets List by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), an annual report highlighting marketplaces linked to large-scale copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, released the following statements.
On digital piracy, Director of Trade, IP, and Digital Technology Governance Rodrigo Balbontin:
This year's Notorious Markets List “issue focus section” examines the online piracy of live sporting events and outlines concrete methods countries can use collaboratively in protecting online intellectual property rights. This is a welcome contribution that countries should take into account to deter foreign online piracy.
However, the best way the United States can promote sound global policy is to lead by example. Americans do not have all the necessary tools to combat online digital piracy. Congress should codify judicial website blocking of foreign pirate sites, which has proven a safe and effective tool to protect American IP when due process is clear.
On e-commerce, Senior Policy Analyst Eli Clemens:
The USTR’s decision not to include Chinese online marketplaces like Temu, AliExpress, and SHEIN on the 2025 Notorious Markets List sends the wrong signal about accountability for facilitating counterfeit goods. These platforms consistently fail to identify or delist probably counterfeits, allowing these goods to remain available and accumulate significant sales. They operate within China’s industrial policy environment that incentivizes global market share growth and tolerates counterfeiting.
USTR’s failure to list these platforms risks emboldening them and other Chinese online marketplaces to continue exploiting U.S. markets at the expense of American businesses’ IP rights and consumers’ safety. This decision also undermines U.S. competitiveness in global e-commerce by failing to highlight how international-facing Chinese online marketplaces compete unfairly by fueling counterfeits. Until USTR lists these platforms, American businesses and consumers will continue to bear the costs of unchecked counterfeit commerce.
Contact: Nicole Hinojosa, [email protected]
