Washington DC [US] May 7 : A surge of "origin washing" advertisements has emerged on Chinese social media platforms, presenting exporters with methods to evade hefty US tariffs by re-exporting goods and using freight forwarding services or by misrepresenting their manufacturing locations, according to a report from Radio Free Asia (RFA).
Video promotions shared on Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, and Douyin, the Chinese counterpart of TikTok, feature businesses offering comprehensive re-export and freight forwarding services through Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam and Thailand to bypass increasing restrictions on export rerouting through these regions, as reported by RFA.
"Chinese manufacturers reliant on the U.S. market must discover ways to endure," stated Taiwanese entrepreneur Lee Meng-chu in an interview with Radio Free Asia, referencing the "significant demand" for transit options that allow exporters to reach U.S. consumers while evading the 145 per cent tariffs imposed on Chinese goods, as mentioned in the RFA report.
Freight forwarders, or customs agents, have become essential players, handling customs declaration documentation, clearances, and certificates of origin, with their fees expected to increase due to rising demand, according to Lee. Some freight forwarders are also assisting exporters in altering or repacking containers to conceal their origins, he noted, as cited by RFA.
Vietnam has ramped up inspections of the origins of raw materials to prevent fraudulent origin certificates, while Thailand has enhanced product origin verification for exports destined for the US to counter tariff evasion, as highlighted by the RFA report.
US law mandates that imported items undergo "substantial transformation" before they can legally be labeled with a new country of origin. Many Chinese producers had initially aimed to fully relocate their manufacturing facilities to Southeast Asia or other low-cost areas, observed Sun Kuo-Hsiang, a professor at the Department of International Affairs and Business at the University of South China, as referenced in the RFA report.
Authorities in both Europe and the US have also augmented their oversight of certificates of origin, but their inspection capabilities struggle to keep up with the number of businesses actively advertising "origin washing" services on social media platforms, as indicated by RFA.
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