According to recently news articles , online sellers in the United States are being loaded with with suspicious offers to evade tariffs on Chinese goods, and Malaysia’s name is being misused as part of the scheme. Bloomberg Has reported that China-based freight brokers are allegedly rerouting products through Malaysia and falsely declaring them as Malaysian-made to exploit lower tariff rates.
One broker told Bloomberg that “most clients are opting to route Chinese merchandise through Malaysia and say it was made there” to avoid US tariffs as high as 145 per cent.
Malaysia’s tariff rate stands at 24 per cent alot less than US tariffs on China even before the recent spikes in the tariff increases.
The offers by China-based freight brokers have apparently increased after the President reimposed steep tariffs on Chinese imports earlier this month, according to five merchants interviewed by Bloomberg.
The brokers reach out on social media, offering to help reduce costs by faking shipment values or origins.
“We can provide the solution to help you save your cost,” read one such message from a logistics firm offering to serve as an importer and declare a lower value for a shipment.
Fraudulent declarations of origin are illegal under US customs law and can lead to civil or criminal penalties for those involved.
Jeff Newman JD MBA, represents whistleblowers in tariff fraud cases concerning imported Chinese goods as well as Medicare and Medicaid fraud cases under the False Claims Act (Qui Tam), and SEC, IRS and FINCEN whistleblower programs. He can be reached at Jeff@JeffNewmanLaw.com or at 617-823-3217
