The United States trade representative is set to release its 2025 Notorious Markets List, an annual report highlighting marketplaces linked to large-scale copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.
While the list is a key enforcement tool, it has long omitted major Chinese online platforms. In an investigation, I purchased 51 products from Temu, AliExpress, and SHEIN and found that nearly half were likely counterfeits. If the USTR is serious about protecting U.S. consumers and businesses, these platforms should be designated as notorious markets.
In my investigation, I bought cold medicine listed on Temu as “cold relief.” But the listing images and product packaging were clearly presented as Theraflu Severe Cold Relief, a Haleon product. After I sent photos and product codes to Haleon, the company told me: “It is most probably a counterfeit.”
I also purchased dog food on Temu, which resembled a product from the British company NutriPaw. But upon further inspection, I found both typos on the packaging and an incorrect barcode. NutriPaw confirmed they were fake and warned that they had received a report of someone rushing their dog to the veterinarian with severe vomiting after giving them what turned out to be fake NutriPaw treats.
Most counterfeits were less dangerous but equally brazen.
A pair of Brooks sneakers I purchased from an AliExpress vendor called “Brooks Authorized Store” arrived with two different barcodes. One on the shoebox was for the wrong color, and the other on the shoe tongue was for the wrong model entirely. Brooks confirmed that it was not authentic.
A “YETI” tumbler from Temu had punctuation errors and was engraved “YETI · COM” instead of the authentic “YETI.COM.” Color Wow hair serum, also purchased from Temu, costs $10.91, less than half the legitimate product’s $24 price. This was “definitely a counterfeit,” according to Color Wow.
A “CH Light Luxury Chain Bag” purchased on SHEIN for $57.98 was styled to mimic a $1,100 Carolina Herrera “Matryoshka Locked M” and arrived with a typo-riddled tag and a magnetic clasp code used in fake luxury bags since 2006. The shipping label revealed the SHEIN vendor was Guangzhou Sujia Leather, the same company running two AliExpress “CH” stores.
A closer look at these vendors exposes the scope of the problem.
The “Brooks Authorized Store” on AliExpress? It is actually a Chinese plastics company that claims it can precisely match colors and that its products are used in shoemaking. Most vendors were based in China, though some listed U.S. addresses. Many appeared to operate out of apartments or listed fraudulent business information.
This isn’t just about fake luxury goods. Counterfeits accounted for 2.5% of global trade in 2019, generating nearly $500 billion in revenue — and likely more given the opacity of the issue. That represents lost revenue for legitimate companies, eliminated jobs, and reduced investment in innovation.
American companies are the most frequent targets of counterfeiting worldwide. Approximately half of the suspected counterfeits that I purchased had infringed American intellectual property (IP).
Where does it all come from? According to a U.S. government report from earlier this year: “China continues to be the number one source of counterfeit products in the world.”
The primary culprits are vendors knowingly selling counterfeits, especially those who present consumer safety risks and undermine the economies of countries whose companies are targeted. But Chinese platforms share responsibility by providing these counterfeiters with storefronts and millions of potential customers while offering inadequate anti-counterfeiting measures.
Current enforcement is failing. Companies whose IP is ripped off have limited recourse. Enforcement relies on cross-border cooperation, and current U.S. government tools are insufficient. None of the likely counterfeits that I purchased were seized by U.S. Customs for IP infringement.
Don’t expect these platforms to crack down voluntarily. Public reports, including my own, are unlikely to change their behavior. And it is even less likely that the Chinese government will enforce IP laws, given that counterfeiting creates jobs and export revenue.
CHINA IS ALREADY WAGING WAR ON AMERICAN SOIL
The solution requires U.S. government intervention.
The USTR’s Notorious Markets List should include Temu, AliExpress, and SHEIN. While the list carries no direct penalties, it increases scrutiny and pressures platforms and governments to enforce anti-counterfeiting measures. Stronger oversight could push Chinese e-commerce platforms to take counterfeiting seriously, protecting consumers, safeguarding IP, and leveling the playing field for American businesses, while also reducing the risk that any online purchase is fake or dangerous.
Eli Clemens is a senior policy analyst focusing on e-commerce and retail technology policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s Center for Data Innovation.