Online Piracy to Be ‘Issue Focus’ of 2020 Notorious Markets List: USTR

Comments are due Nov. 8, rebuttals Nov. 22, identifying online and physical piracy and counterfeit markets to be considered for inclusion on the Trump administration’s 2020 Notorious Markets list, said an Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice in Thursday’s Federal Register. The “issue focus” of the 2020 list will be on the use of e-commerce platforms and “other third-party intermediaries to facilitate the importation of counterfeit and pirated goods” into the U.S., it said. “The rapid growth of e-commerce platforms has helped fuel the growth of counterfeit and pirated goods” into a $500 billion industry, it said. “This illicit trade has an enormous impact on the American economy by eroding the competitiveness of American workers, manufacturers and innovation.”