US continues to blacklist China’s eBay over counterfeit goods
Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba's counterfeit goods problem refuses to go away. Despite noting improvements on takedown efforts, the Office of the US Trade Representative has again blacklisted Alibaba's eBay-like Taobao shopping site. In its annual report on the trade of illicit goods in online and physical marketplaces, the USTR said Taobao hasn't "objectively demonstrated that the volume or prevalence of counterfeit goods has decreased over the last year." Alibaba cited its brand protection programs and offline cooperation with law enforcement as evidence that it addressed the concerns raised by the USTR. "The number of takedown requests declined by 25% YoY as a direct result of our ability to remove infringing listings before they make it to our marketplaces," said Alibaba group president Michael Evans in his response . He continued: "In fact, 98% of these proactive takedowns were removed before a single sale could be made, and 97% o...