TL;DR
Get your wardrobe favorites delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
The American Apparel and Footwear Association has nominated five online platforms for the USTR’s 2026 Notorious Markets review: Facebook, Instagram, Alibaba.com, AliExpress and DHGate. The nominations are AAFA’s recommendations, not a USTR finding; the trade group cites member reports of counterfeit listings, brand impersonation and potential product-safety risks.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) has recommended that the U.S. Trade Representative include Facebook, Instagram, Alibaba.com, AliExpress and DHGate in its 2026 Notorious Markets review, citing member reports of counterfeit goods and brand impersonation. The submission is a trade-group recommendation; it does not establish that the platforms have been designated by the USTR or that the allegations have been independently verified.
AAFA said it submitted comments to the USTR for the agency’s 2026 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy. The Washington-based association said its recommendations draw on information from members, a group that includes about 1,100 fashion brands and retailers. The USTR review examines markets that rights holders identify as associated with counterfeiting or piracy; AAFA’s nominations are input to that process, not the government’s final assessment.
AAFA recommended Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram for the seventh consecutive year, according to the source report. The association said its members had identified fake advertisements, product listings and profiles impersonating company staff, along with fraudulent advertising attributed to bots and unverified accounts. AAFA also warned that some counterfeit marketing uses brand-owned images and other intellectual property, including material generated with artificial intelligence. These are concerns reported by the association and its members, rather than findings presented in the source as independently established for every listing or platform.
One AAFA member reported that it had 120,000 fraudulent product listings removed from Meta platforms during the first six months of the year. The source does not identify the member, specify how the listings were classified, or provide a comparison period. AAFA also pointed to a study it released in February, based on products bought during the 2025 holiday season: 41% of 39 lab-tested products did not comply with international safety standards. The source says many of the products, purchased on online platforms, were counterfeit and contained substances including phthalates, lead, formaldehyde or nickel; it does not give a platform-by-platform breakdown.
Why Platform Listings Matter
The recommendations matter because online marketplaces and social platforms can connect sellers with large audiences, while brand owners say counterfeit listings can be difficult to identify and remove as they reappear. AAFA argues that this creates a persistent enforcement burden for companies and can divert sales from genuine products. Its president and chief executive, Steve Lamar, said members cannot police the problem on their own and described the work as repeated monitoring and communication with platforms.
AAFA also frames the issue as a potential consumer-safety concern, not just a dispute over intellectual property or lost sales. The association says counterfeit products may come from unregulated production and fail safety requirements. Its test results offer a specific reported measure—41% of 39 sampled products failed to meet international standards—but the small sample and lack of platform-level details mean the figure should not be treated as a rate for all goods sold online.
A USTR listing can bring public attention to a market identified by rights holders, but AAFA’s submission alone does not show what action the U.S. government will take or establish liability by any named company. The practical significance for shoppers and businesses will depend on the USTR’s review and on whether platforms, regulators or rights holders make changes to how suspicious listings are handled.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How AAFA Built Its Nominations
The USTR’s Notorious Markets List is an annual review concerning markets that are reported to facilitate substantial copyright piracy or trademark counterfeiting. Rights holders and trade organizations can provide information as part of the process. Being nominated by AAFA is not the same as appearing on the final government list, and a listing is not, by itself, a court ruling that a platform has violated the law.
AAFA says its submissions reflect the experiences of its member companies. The association has previously recommended Meta’s Facebook and Instagram for the review; the source report says this is the seventh year in a row it has done so. AAFA’s latest recommendations also include Alibaba.com, AliExpress and DHGate. The source provides no comparable year-by-year history for those three platforms.
In describing the problem, AAFA said counterfeiters may copy product imagery and marketing materials, and in some cases produce imitations within days or weeks of a product launch. Those statements explain the association’s concerns about the speed of online listings, but the source does not document specific products, sellers or enforcement cases tied to each nominated platform.
“Consumers deserve to know that the products they purchase are authentic, safe and compliant with the law.”
— Steve Lamar, AAFA president and CEO
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
What the Submission Does Not Establish
The source does not include the full AAFA filing, the USTR’s response, or the agency’s final determinations. It is therefore unclear whether the USTR will include any or all of the five nominees in its 2026 report, what evidence the agency will cite, or whether the platforms will be asked to respond as part of the review.
AAFA’s figures and examples are attributed to its study and member reports. The source does not identify the member behind the reported 120,000 removals, explain the listing-verification method, or say whether removals were completed after requests from the member or by another process. It also does not specify how the 39 tested products were distributed across platforms or provide enough detail to generalize the 41% result to online products overall.
It remains unclear how the named platforms assess the claims, what enforcement measures they have taken in response to the specific reports, and whether any USTR review will lead to regulatory or commercial consequences. The source material includes no responses from Meta, Alibaba, DHGate or the USTR.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
The USTR Review Process
The next step is the USTR’s consideration of submissions for its 2026 Notorious Markets review. The source does not provide a publication date for the final report or a schedule for any further stages. Until the agency publishes its assessment, AAFA’s list should be understood as a set of nominations and concerns submitted by an industry association.
Readers can expect the central questions to be whether the USTR names any of the five platforms, what evidence it uses, and whether the companies provide responses or describe steps to address counterfeit listings and impersonation. The available information does not establish the outcome, and no response from the platforms is included in the source report.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
Which platforms did AAFA nominate?
AAFA recommended Facebook, Instagram, Alibaba.com, AliExpress and DHGate for the USTR’s 2026 Notorious Markets review.
Has the USTR officially listed these platforms?
The source reports AAFA’s nominations, not a final USTR decision. Whether any of the platforms will appear in the agency’s 2026 report is not yet established.
What evidence did AAFA cite about product safety?
AAFA cited a study of products bought during the 2025 holiday season. It said 41% of 39 lab-tested products failed to comply with international safety standards. The source does not provide a platform-by-platform breakdown, so the figure should not be read as a rate for all products sold on the named services.
What does the reported 120,000 figure refer to?
One AAFA member reported that 120,000 fraudulent product listings were removed from Meta platforms during the first six months of the year. The source does not identify the member, give a comparison baseline, or detail how the listings were assessed.
What happens after AAFA’s submission?
The USTR will consider information submitted for its 2026 review. The source does not state when the final report will be released or whether the review will produce further action.
Source: rss
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
