Illustrative image (Photo: tienphong.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Ba Ria-Vung Tau province'sCustoms Department had seized a suspicious aluminum shipment worth 4.3 billionUSD that was heading to the US and other countries, a General Department ofVietnam Customs official said.
This was the largest place-of-origin fraud ever uncovered inthe country, according to General Director of the General Department of VietnamCustoms Nguyen Van Can.
Can said the shipment belonged to a corporation which had itsown production line but imported aluminum ingots, bars and semi-finishedproducts from abroad to export to the US, among others.
After becoming suspicious, the General Department of VietnamCustoms (GDC) collaborated with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministryof Industry and Trade, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and otherrelevant agencies to investigate and block the shipment, he said.
“The Vietnamese customs authority has also worked with UScustoms officers and the Department of Homeland Security who have sent agentsto Vietnam to verify the case,” Can was quoted as saying by laodong.vn.
According to a report of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincecustoms, the company's inventory amounted to 1.8 million tonnes worth about 4.3billion USD.
Trade tensions between the US and China have been ongoing formore than a year. Their impacts, together with temporary trade protectionmeasures around the world such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties,affect trade flows. Some products are being disguised with ‘made in Vietnam’labels to try to evade US anti-dumping duties.
Vietnam’s aluminum exports to the US were subject to a tax ofabout 15 percent, but products from China were levied at up to 374 percent, Cansaid.
According to US customs, even if businesses imported aluminumingots and bars and finished aluminum products to process, they were still noteligible to be labelled made-in-Vietnam.
Because of the high tax benefit, many businesses in BaRia-Vung Tau province had imported billions of US dollars worth of aluminumproducts, according to Can.
“The customs authority is continuing to fight place-of-originfraud to stop Vietnam becoming a trans-shipment point for fraudulent goods,” Cansaid. The authority had also detected and prevented other cases involvingimporting semi-finished and finished products to Vietnam and faking theirorigin, he added.
This month, the Trade Remedies Authority under the Ministryof Industry and Trade announced a list of 25 items at risk of trade remediesinvestigation, an increase of 12 items compared to the list published in Augustthis year.
The list includes hardwood plywood, artificial stone, ironracks, foam cushions, electric bicycles, truck and passenger car tires, andcorrosion-resistant steel (2 codes HS), stainless steel rims, hot rolled steelsheets, cast iron products, synthetic fibers, mechanical pipes of steel andcold alloys, aluminum foil, forged steel accessories, common aluminum alloyplates, elastic bands and steel wheels./.
This was the largest place-of-origin fraud ever uncovered inthe country, according to General Director of the General Department of VietnamCustoms Nguyen Van Can.
Can said the shipment belonged to a corporation which had itsown production line but imported aluminum ingots, bars and semi-finishedproducts from abroad to export to the US, among others.
After becoming suspicious, the General Department of VietnamCustoms (GDC) collaborated with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministryof Industry and Trade, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and otherrelevant agencies to investigate and block the shipment, he said.
“The Vietnamese customs authority has also worked with UScustoms officers and the Department of Homeland Security who have sent agentsto Vietnam to verify the case,” Can was quoted as saying by laodong.vn.
According to a report of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau provincecustoms, the company's inventory amounted to 1.8 million tonnes worth about 4.3billion USD.
Trade tensions between the US and China have been ongoing formore than a year. Their impacts, together with temporary trade protectionmeasures around the world such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties,affect trade flows. Some products are being disguised with ‘made in Vietnam’labels to try to evade US anti-dumping duties.
Vietnam’s aluminum exports to the US were subject to a tax ofabout 15 percent, but products from China were levied at up to 374 percent, Cansaid.
According to US customs, even if businesses imported aluminumingots and bars and finished aluminum products to process, they were still noteligible to be labelled made-in-Vietnam.
Because of the high tax benefit, many businesses in BaRia-Vung Tau province had imported billions of US dollars worth of aluminumproducts, according to Can.
“The customs authority is continuing to fight place-of-originfraud to stop Vietnam becoming a trans-shipment point for fraudulent goods,” Cansaid. The authority had also detected and prevented other cases involvingimporting semi-finished and finished products to Vietnam and faking theirorigin, he added.
This month, the Trade Remedies Authority under the Ministryof Industry and Trade announced a list of 25 items at risk of trade remediesinvestigation, an increase of 12 items compared to the list published in Augustthis year.
The list includes hardwood plywood, artificial stone, ironracks, foam cushions, electric bicycles, truck and passenger car tires, andcorrosion-resistant steel (2 codes HS), stainless steel rims, hot rolled steelsheets, cast iron products, synthetic fibers, mechanical pipes of steel andcold alloys, aluminum foil, forged steel accessories, common aluminum alloyplates, elastic bands and steel wheels./.
VNA
