AAFA Calls for USG to Protect from Digital Devalue Chain of Counterfeits Promulgated by Platforms

October 2, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. AAFA calls attention to specific platforms - Meta's Facebook; Meta's Instagram; Shopee; Alibaba's AliExpress; and Alibaba's Taobao - that allow, and benefit from, the promotion and sale of counterfeit products, which puts businesses, workers, consumers, and American innovation in danger.
The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) - a leading voice for safe workplaces, consumer protection, and brand integrity - submitted comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) as part of USTR's 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (NML). In the submission, AAFA recommends the following platforms for inclusion in USTR's 2025 NML report:

• Meta: Facebook
• Meta: Instagram
• Shopee
• Alibaba: AliExpress
• Alibaba: Taobao

AAFA members are active in the fight against counterfeits. AAFA member products again dominated the top 10 commodities seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 IPR Seizure report, a trend that has remained consistent over time, fueled by the growth of e-commerce. Counterfeits pose serious threats to American brands, businesses, American ingenuity and innovation, and American workers, as well as to the environment and to American consumers. While this trend is not replicated across every online platform, it represents an underlying concern: e-commerce platforms are often driven to maximize profits at the expense of one or more components of brand protection.

"Every day, counterfeits, and the fraudulent ads, fraudulent websites, and dupe influencers that promote them, flood platforms, deceiving consumers and complicating the important work of brand protection professionals to take down illicit and dangerous goods," explains AAFA's Senior Director of Brand Protection, Jennifer Hanks. "All platforms must step up and take accountability for their willful blindness by instituting proactive, preventative measures so counterfeits are not visible on platforms in the first place."

"Recognizing these platforms as notorious markets simply reflects the reality that counterfeit fashion is widely available on some of America's most visited online marketplaces and social media platforms," says AAFA President and CEO Steve Lamar. "The Trump Administration has an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the insufficient steps these marketplaces take to block counterfeiters while raising awareness among American consumers about this hidden online danger."

One concerning trend raised in 2025 by members is the alarming trend correlated to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Counterfeits and IP infringement have significantly worsened as sophisticated bad actors exploit AI faster than the platforms themselves harness the power of AI to block counterfeits.

Access AAFA's NML submission details and the association's July 17 letter to USTR ahead of today's submission, requesting that the NML report include platforms regardless of where they are headquartered. Earlier this month, AAFA welcomed the new USPTO Director, John A. Squires, and delivered a letter outlining the industry's IP priorities. Read about AAFA's advocacy to stop the Digital Devalue Chain of Counterfeits.