Alibaba named on US market blacklist

The massive Chinese online marketplace Alibaba has been named again on the US 'Notorious Markets' for allegedly selling fake goods.

The e-commerce website is among the top 15 most visited in the world, and in the top 5 most visited in China according to Alexa ratings.

The US Office of the Trade Representative (USTR) Notorious Markets list for 2016 named Alibaba's Taobao e-commerce platform "due to the large volume of allegedly counterfeit and pirated goods available and the challenges right holders experience in removing and preventing illicit sales and offers of such goods."

The site is wedged between torrenting sites The Pirate Bay and RUTRACKER where users can illegally download films, television shows, and music.

"We are very disappointed by the USTR's decision to include Taobao on its 'notorious markets' list, which ignores the real work Alibaba has done against counterfeiters," Michael Evans, president of Alibaba Group, said in a statement.

Alibaba has suggested the decision by the USTR to include Taobao could be due to President-elect Donald Trump's hardline on trade with China.

"Our results speak for themselves," Alibaba said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the USTR's decision leads us to question whether the USTR acted based on the actual facts or was influenced by the current political climate."

Michael Evans was in New Zealand in July on a "roadshow" for Alibaba in July to build on an agreement forged with NZ Trade and Enterprise to provide a conduit for NZ's small and medium-sized on the platform.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key with Jack Ma, founder of the Alibaba Group, at lunch in Beijing on 18 April 2016. Photo / File

Alibaba was previously listed on the Notorious Markets last December, but wasn't named earlier this year after taking counter measures to prevent piracy and counterfeit goods.

The USTR acknowledged the steps Alibaba had taken to combat piracy, but said they had failed to curb the problem sufficiently.

"Right holders in the United States and internationally continue to report serious challenges to reducing high levels of counterfeit and pirated goods on Taobao," the USTR said.

"While recent steps set positive expectations for the future, current levels of reported counterfeiting and piracy are unacceptably high. Not only do counterfeit and pirated goods pose a grave economic threat to U.S. creative and innovative industries, undermining the Chinese and global market for legitimate U.S. products, substandard counterfeits such as auto parts pose a potential public health threat to unsuspecting consumers," they said.

Former Prime Minister John Key met with Alibaba's eccentric founder Jack Ma in April. Ma is estimated to be worth US$23 billion (NZ$33.3b) according to Forbes magazine.