Vietnam Customs Cracking Down on Transshipment Schemes

Vietnam is cracking down on transshipment schemes that falsely claim Vietnamese country of origin to avoid high tariffs on Chinese goods, according to a June 13 report in CustomsNews. Vietnam Customs has discovered dozens of certificate of origin violations so far, particularly in the textiles and apparel, seafood, agricultural, steel, aluminum and timber sectors, the report said.

The goods are imported from China, then repackaged with Made in Vietnam labels and exported to the U.S., the European Union and Japan with Vietnamese certificates of origin, said CustomsNews, which calls itself the “mouthpiece” of the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Vietnam Customs is currently developing a process to check goods that are often associated with trade fraud, and has directed provincial and municipal customs offices to “drastically strengthen inspections to uncover fake certificates of origin,” the report said. Goods imported from China will be checked for their name, origin and labeling, it said.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Trade has been directed to “develop a decree which increases penalties for such violations,” the report said. The Vietnamese National Assembly has also warned “that domestic companies should be careful in associating with foreign firms to ensure transparency,” CustomsNews said. “They should not take advantage of legal loopholes to collaborate with foreign businesses in exporting goods to the US.”

The Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has recently noted a dramatic increase in companies that are exporting to the U.S., especially for companies that have never or rarely applied for a certificate of origin for goods exported to the U.S., according to an unofficial translation of a release on the Vietnamese government’s trade portal dated June 5. Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Trade has proposed that VCCI strengthen verification of the production capacity of exporters, the release said.