São Paulo mayor Ricardo Nunes said the popular shopping district Rua 25 de Março cannot be considered an illegal market, rebutting a new investigation opened by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative at the direction of former president Donald Trump. The USTR report singles out the downtown stretch as one of the world’s largest sources of counterfeit goods and cites Brazil’s “ineffective” protection of intellectual-property rights. Nunes argued that any enforcement against fake merchandise is the responsibility of federal agencies such as the Receita Federal, adding that city officials already support periodic crackdowns. The mayor emphasized that the area hosts more than 3,000 formally registered retailers that generate tax revenue and employment. Merchant group Univinco and the São Paulo Chamber of Commerce also rejected the piracy label, warning that threatened U.S. trade sanctions could penalize legitimate businesses that largely import goods from China, not the United States. Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin said Brasília will respond to the probe and seek urgent negotiations, invoking past tariff settlements with Washington.