Alibaba suspects U.S. decision to blacklist 'Taobao' politically influenced

Alibaba Group Holding on Thursday questioned the United States decision to return its customer-to-customer marketplace, Taobao, to a blacklist of "notorious marketplaces."

The comment came after the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on Wednesday announced that it had put Alibaba's Taobao on the 2016 blacklist, reports the Global Times.

The Chinese e-commerce giant said it was "very disappointed" that its Taobao marketplace was put back on the U.S. market blacklist, suspecting USTR's action was influenced by the current political climate.

The company noted that the move ignored Alibaba's work over the past four years, including the creation of a special team to crack down on counterfeit goods in 2015.

USTR has identified notorious markets since 2006, highlighting those reported to be engaging in violations of intellectual property and the sale of counterfeit goods.

Taobao was included on the blacklist in 2011, but was later removed in 2012.