Greenhills Lands on U.S. 'Notorious Markets' List for Counterfeit Goods

(SPOT.ph) Greenhills is a tiangge haven—everything from second-hand gadgets to suspiciously cheap “luxury” items—but that reputation also precedes it: the shopping complex has once again landed on a global watch list for counterfeit goods.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has included Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan in its 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy—an annual report that identifies markets around the world where counterfeit goods or pirated content are widely available.

In the report, Greenhills is described as a large mall in Metro Manila with storefronts selling electronics, perfumes, watches, shoes, accessories, and fashion items, many of which rights holders claim are counterfeit.

To be fair, there have been efforts to clean things up. The report noted that mall management has implemented a “three-strikes” rule against sellers caught dealing counterfeit goods. Authorities have also conducted operations in the complex, removing almost 300 vendor stalls in recent years as part of anti-counterfeiting efforts.

The Philippine government, through the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR), is also working with the mall to transition the complex toward more legitimate sellers.

“Although right holders have welcomed these developments, they also continue to observe a significant number of counterfeit goods and continue to wait and see if the transition program will resolve their concerns about the volume of counterfeit goods,” USTR said in the report.

Also read: How to Buy a Legit, Less Expensive iPhone in Greenhills

Greenhills’ appearance on the list isn’t new. In fact, the shopping center has been cited in several past editions of the USTR report—the first time it was included was in 2018—making it a recurring entry in the review.

In fact, it’s been the only Philippine market named in the list.

The USTR’s Notorious Markets List has been published annually since 2006. Beyond physical markets, piracy platforms like The Pirate Bay, Sci-Hub, and other torrent and streaming sites are also mentioned in the report for distributing copyrighted material without authorization.

It's worth noting that the list itself does not impose legal penalties, but it serves as a form of international pressure, encouraging governments and companies to strengthen enforcement against piracy and counterfeiting.

Also read: You’ll See Fewer Tiangges in Greenhills During the New Normal