The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) has welcomed the new 2019 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets and the 2020 Special 301 reports by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). AAFA has stated that USTR provides a regular forum for it to share its perspectives on foreign country practices as well as those of physical and online marketplaces. It also emphasized the need for both domestic and worldwide marketplaces, and the countries that house them to implement effective and proactive measures to safeguard intellectual property to protect consumers, workers, and their families.
The association identified 130 physical marketplaces and eight online marketplaces that member companies identified as engaging in and facilitating substantial trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy.
In its Special 301 submission, AAFA provided perspectives on IP practices in eight countries.
