China has found a solution to tariffs for Amazon sellers in the US. The problem is that it is illegal

The commercial war between the United States and China can shoot so many prices That the list is, a priori, endless. However, this 145% tariff figure imposed by the Trump administration (later Replicated by Beijing), it affects more products than others, and within that giant on online purchases called Amazon, the problem is much more fat for some vendors than for others. In China they have found a solution, although it does not seem legal.

Fraud hidden behind shipments. I told it exclusively Fortune weekend. The rates imposed by the Trump administration of Chinese imports, which have reached such high levels Like that 145% We were talking about, not only have they destabilized great American retailers and sellers In Amazon, but they have also put in check the Chinese manufacturers and distributors who feed those supply chains.

In response to this increasingly hostile commercial environment, several Chinese suppliers have begun to offer their US clients a “solution” as simple as illegal: falsify the declared value of imported products to reduce tariff load. It is, without any type of rodeos, a type of customs fraud.

Illicit offers in digital tray. The medium lo He explained with examples. In messages sent by email and through the Wechat platform (then obtained by Fortune) at least half a dozen Chinese suppliers explicitly proposed to an American brand of domestic goods with a wide presence on Amazon that Subdeclara The value of its imports. “Many companies in the United States use invoices with minor values ​​to facilitate customs office and reduce rates,” wrote one of them.

Another was still More direct: “We can modify the declared value in commercial invoices to help with tariff costs.” These proposals apparently have been frequent and formulated with total normality, as if they were part of the usual treatment. In some cases, suppliers added the option to use the shipping method Delivery Duty Paid (DDP), where the supplier assumes customs management and is responsible for manipulating the declared value of the shipment, thus creating a kind of deliberate barrier between the American seller and customs. Everything, of course, with the aim of relieving the tax burden, but assuming significant legal risks.

A mined land for small importers. According to the medium, the founder of the American company involved (which anonymity requested so as not to compromise its usual suppliers) expressed concern that many small companies They can fall In these traps without fully understanding the legal consequences.

Such and As he saidone of its suppliers said that this tactic is already common among competitors based on China. It is precisely this type of practices that, according to him, distorts the playing field: Chinese vendors who falsify the value of their shipments not only avoid high tariffs, but also obtain a direct competitive advantage over US vendors who follow the rules.

From suspicion to confirmation. Apparently, suspicions about this type of practices are not new. Many American sellers have been complaining that their rivals in China could be Systematically subdeclating The values ​​of your products.

Be that as it may, last week the issue exploded within the Amazon sellers community after a Chinese consultant published An entrance to LinkedIn stating that “the declared value of a typical container from China to the United States usually ranges between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars”, a figure that US vendors consider ridiculously low, especially in categories such as “home and garden”, where products such as furniture significantly raise real value.

Play within legality. Options under the legal framework? Fortune said that in the face of pressure, some Chinese suppliers have begun to Offer small discounts in wholesale prices as a palliative measure, but that barely touch the surface of the problem.

Others mention the possibility of Move production To other countries with lower tariffs, although they recognize that this alternative can only materialize over time. Meanwhile, illegal offers seem to continue on the table. The combination of punitive rates, unfair competition and lack of effective customs supervision has created a scenario where the incentive to the trap overcomes The will to respect the norms.

A fraud without punishment. It is the last of the aid legs to explain this type of movements. Impunity seems to be a central ingredient of the crisis. Several American businessmen expressed to Fortune his frustration for the absence of consequences for those who commit customs fraud from China.

The control mechanisms do not seem to be prepared to respond with the necessary forcefulness, and each container that enters undervalued represents not only a loss of fiscal income, but also a direct affront to the principle of loyal competition.

In other words: the system, as it is, does not seem to punish the cheater. And as long as that does not change, the temptation to cross the line will remain there, in this case, disguised as a simple commercial proposal in an entrance tray.

Image | World Bank

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