In the current situation where the United States imposes high tariffs on Chinese goods, can enterprises successfully clear and avoid high tariffs by changing their origin (such as production or processing in a third country)?

Let’s first take a look at what are the anti-evasion measures of the United States to change its country of origin by changing its 're-export trade'?

• 1. If the US Customs (CBP) determines that the goods are 'washed in the place of origin' (that is, they are actually originated in China), they may retroactively impose anti-avoidance tariffs (the tax rate can reach 100%-300% of the original tariff);
• 2. In March 2025, the US Department of Commerce included Vietnam, Malaysia, etc. on the 'anti-avoidance investigation list' and the review was stricter. For countries that are under key monitoring, such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Peru, etc., the law is enforced efficiently, and every order must be checked. The global traceability fine for the production link can ultimately reach 300% of the tax evasion amount plus 10-year profit recovery, and the criminal penalty is up to 20 years in prison. Crime: Tariff fraud.
• 3. The United States' tariff exemption to specific transit countries may be temporarily adjusted (such as suspending the 90-day increase in taxes on some countries in April 2025);
• 4. Recently, industrial giants such as US steel pipe factories, kitchen cabinet manufacturers, and auto parts collectively demanded that the US Congress crack down on Chinese exporters to avoid US tariffs through 'third-country transshipment'. It is expected that the United States will re-support the 'Strike on Third-Country Transshipment Act' in the future.

In contrast, our country - showing its style as a great country. In addition to the corresponding counterattack 'adding tariffs on US tariffs', it also proposed that 'taxes on US tariffs have been raised to 125%. Given that under the current tariff levels, there is no possibility of market acceptance of US goods imported from China, if the US continues to impose tariffs on Chinese goods imported from the US, China will ignore it. 'The acts of wanton and arbitrary will be ignored.

Not only that, the anti-avoidance measures for origin are also carried out in accordance with my country's original laws and regulations, and are not as casual as the US side. According to the 'Regulations on the Origin of Import and Export Goods of the People's Republic of China''Article 23 If a false material is provided to defraud the certificate of origin of export goods or forge, alter, buy, sell or steal the certificate of origin of export goods, the entry and exit inspection and quarantine agency and customs shall impose a fine of not less than RMB 5,000 and not more than RMB 100,000; if the certificate of origin of export goods as customs release vouchers, a fine of not less than RMB 4,000 will be imposed, but if the value of goods is less than RMB 5,000 will be imposed. If there is any illegal gain, the entry and exit inspection and quarantine agency and customs shall confiscate the illegal gains. If a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.' The legal origin of the crime of false reporting of origin can be traced back to Article 82 of the Customs Law and Article 7 of the 'Regulations on the Implementation of Customs Administrative Penalties of the People's Republic of China'. Specifically, it means evading customs supervision, falsely reporting the origin of imported goods, stealing taxes payable, and the amount is large, and criminal liability for smuggling should be pursued. The crime of smuggling from the origin for false reporting is the crime of smuggling ordinary goods and items in Article 153 of the Criminal Law.

This spirit! This style! This style!

Under such heavy pressure, is there still a need for 're-export trade' to operate? In addition to the risks of being caught and being punished, let’s see what the superimposed costs of the required investment will be? How big is the rice that can be removed?

• 1. Transfers to third countries will need to pay additional logistics, warehousing and processing costs, which may offset tariff savings;

• 2. Delay in customs clearance or rejection of documents will lead to the detention of goods and incur port fees.
• 3. Substantive processing to meet the rules of origin: complete core processes (such as assembly, welding) in the transit country rather than just changing packaging; and increase in regional value content: different transit countries have different requirements (Mexico ≥50%, Southeast Asian countries ≥30%), and the production costs may be much higher than the tariff amount. To meet this point, various supplements are needed: for example, the certificate of origin, processing certificate, and logistics documents of the transit country must be complete and consistent; and the brand needs to register or authorize in the transit country (such as Anker set up a factory in Vietnam), etc.

Is it really necessary to take risks for this tariff under various punishments and costs such as comprehensive expenses, acceptance of punishment, and being sentenced to prison?

Coincidentally, the problem that arises from the definition of origin is more than this. From the recent cases we have encountered, this wave of differences in origin is not uncommon.

01 Case

Our company was entrusted by the customer to declare a ticket of imported goods with the product name microcomputer. Before the declaration, the customer (a domestic importer) provided a 3C certificate issued by a foreign supplier and required the declaration to be used for declaration.

Our company found an abnormality when checking the invoice and certificate information. The invoice shows that the country of origin is 'Taiwan, China', and the manufacturer in the 3C certificate is an enterprise with 'Kunshan, Jiangsu'. As shown in the figure below:

The remaining declaration information such as product name, model and other elements can match. Our company feedbacks the situation to the customer and requires verification of the information of the country of origin.

After feedback from customers, the main part of the goods was produced in Kunshan and was then exported to Taiwan, China for further processing. At the same time, the customer provided a photo of the physical nameplate, which shows that the manufacturer is a company in Taiwan, China, as shown in the figure below:

Wouldn't this cause the origin and the 3C certificate information to be unable to match? !

Then we need to analyze it here. Since the main body of the goods is produced in 'Kunshan, Jiangsu', what further processing has been done in Taiwan Province of China? Our customers can't answer this key question.

Why not analyze this case according to our existing rules for determining origin!

According to Article 6 of the 'Regulations on Origin of Import and Export Goods of the People's Republic of China':'The standard for determining the substantive changes stipulated in Article 3 of this Regulation shall be based on the classification change of tax rules as the basic standard; if the classification change of tax rules cannot reflect substantial changes, the percentage of adjudication, manufacturing or processing process shall be used as supplementary standards. The specific standards shall be formulated by the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Commerce. The classification change of tax rules as referred to in the first paragraph of this article refers to the fact that after a country (region) manufactures and processes materials from other countries (regions) from the country (regions), the goods obtained are in the 'Import and Export Tax Rules of the People's Republic of China' in the 'Import and Export Tax Rules of the People's Republic of China' after a country (region) manufactures and processes materials from other countries (regions) and the goods obtained are in the 'Import and Export Tax Rules of the People's Republic of China' The classification of tax items at first level has changed. The adjudication percentage referred to in the first paragraph of this article refers to the value-added part of the material produced and processed in a certain country (region) after manufacturing and processing materials from non-this country (region), which exceeds a certain percentage of the value of the obtained goods. The manufacturing or processing process referred to in the first paragraph of this article refers to the main process carried out in a certain country (region) that gives the basic characteristics of the goods obtained after manufacturing and processing. '

Except for 'completely obtaining standards', the rules for determining the origin are simplified into a chart:

In contrast, in this case, the product name is listed on the 3C certificate: Tablet, and the product name is listed on the physical nameplate: Tablet. We can't help but wonder what this so-called 'further processing' is what it processes and becomes the origin of Taiwan Province, China? Unless: the party providing the service certificate, we cannot guess the specific reason why the supplier changed the origin for no reason, nor can we question whether our customers have changed the actual goods imported by the institute. In the end, the customer cannot provide the 3C certificate corresponding to the manufacturer for Taiwanese enterprises. At this point, our company can only recommend that the customer return the goods.

Are all the origin issues related to 3C certificates so strict? The author said that according to our company's second case, it is not the case. There is still an objective law enforcement situation.

02 cases

Our company is entrusted by the customer to declare a ticket of imported goods with the product name: fuse-type isolation switch. Before the declaration, the customer provided a 3C certificate issued by a foreign supplier and required the declaration to be made using this certificate. During the application process, our company did not find any abnormalities. After the application, the ticket document received a destination inspection instruction. The specific inspection instruction is to verify the 3C certificate and the 3C mark. During the inspection process, the customs inspector found the address of the physical label, as shown in the figure below:

The information is inconsistent with the 3C certificate, as shown in the figure below:

The customs concerned require the customer to give a reasonable explanation, otherwise it will be destroyed.

Now it is urgent. The goods that have been released and have paid taxes are at risk of destruction. Wouldn’t so many freight, warehousing fees, and taxes be wasted? !

Based on this, the customer quickly contacted the foreign supplier and found out that the local zip code had changed during the period from the issuance of the certificate to the actual import, and the information of the goods and 3C certificates was not updated in time, resulting in inconsistency. The customer immediately provided the customs with relevant basis for changing the postal code abroad and gave a reasonable explanation. As shown in the figure below:

Under these reasonable and reasonable evidence conditions, the customs will approve the interpretation and release it.

In summary, the author advises: Customs declaration operations must keep in mind the principles of consistency of singles, consistent singles, consistent documents, and consistent goods, and consistent goods and certificates. When abnormalities are found, raise questions to the customer in a timely manner and confirm the relevant correct information. 3C imported products are related to the safety of the user. It is not advisable to apply 3C certificates at will, and it is also not advisable to change the origin at will. It will only add costs and the gain will not be worth the loss.

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