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Concerns over fake products on Alibaba's
platforms, including online marketplace Taobao, have dogged the
world's largest e-commerce firm for years, although the U.S.
trade office removed Taobao from its list of "notorious markets"
in 2012 in recognition of progress made.
In the latest flare up over the issue, the American Apparel &
Footwear Association (AAFA) said in an April 8 letter to U.S.
Trade Representative Michael Froman it was convinced Alibaba was
either incapable or not interested in addressing the problem.
The association added that since Taobao had been delisted as a
notorious market, the problem had worsened and urged the USTR to
send a clear signal that Taobao would be relisted unless more
action was taken.
In response, Alibaba said on Tuesday that its measures to tackle
counterfeits included data mining, working with Chinese
authorities and cooperating with over 1,000 brand owners and
several industry associations.
Alibaba added it had been talking with AAFA since 2012 over how
best to tackle counterfeits and was committed to continuing to
do so.
Prior to the AAFA letter, the USTR said last month it was
keeping an eye on Alibaba for sales of counterfeit and pirated
goods, but refrained from putting the site back on the piracy
blacklist.
Hangzhou-based Alibaba has also caught regulators' attention in
China. Last month, the country's commercial regulator said in
response to a question about fakes on Alibaba's websites that
the government must establish a system to record and restrict
e-commerce firms that break rules on counterfeit goods.
Alibaba has seen its shares slide 19 percent for the year to
date, with analysts citing concerns about counterfeits as one
reason, along with lacklustre third-quarter earnings and
investor excitement wearing off after the firm's record-setting
$25 billion IPO last September.
(Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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