Chinese goods evade Trump tariffs via false 'Made in Korea' labeling

South Korea reports spike in fraudulent practice ahead of trade talks with US

20250422N China South Korea flags

Chinese companies are looking for ways around the 145% duties that the U.S. has slapped on imports from China. © Reuters

ERIKA KOBAYASHI

SEOUL -- Chinese companies are increasingly shipping U.S.-bound goods to South Korea and then fraudulently exporting them as South Korean products in order to avoid steep American tariffs on imports from China, authorities here have found.

Exports falsely labeled as made in South Korea amounted to 29.5 billion won ($20.7 million) for the January-March quarter, with goods for the U.S. accounting for 97% of this in value terms, the Korea Customs Service said Monday.

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