A truck at the Tan Vu Terminal, operated by Vietnam Maritime Corp., at Haiphong Port in Haiphong, Vietnam, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.
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Vietnam’s trade ministry has issued a directive to crack down on illegal transshipment of goods to the United States and other trading partners as it tries to avoid steep U.S. tariffs, according to a document reviewed by Reuters.
The ministry, in the directive which was dated and effective April 15, said trade fraud was likely to increase amid growing tension caused by U.S. tariffs.
That in turn would make it “more complicated to avoid sanctions that countries will apply to imported goods” if fraud is not prevented, it said. The directive did not specifically name any countries where transshipment fraud might originate.
However, Vietnam imports nearly 40% of its goods from China and Washington has openly accused Beijing of using the Southeast Asian nation as a transhipment hub to dodge U.S. duties.
Vietnam has been slapped by the Trump administration with 46% “reciprocal” tariffs, currently paused until July, which, if applied, could seriously undermine a growth model that relies on exports to the United States and large investments in the country by foreign manufacturers.
Under the directive, officials at the trade ministry, customs and other agencies are told to strengthen supervision and inspection on imported goods to establish their origin, “especially imported raw materials used for production and export”.
New stricter procedures are to be implemented to inspect factories and supervise the release of “Made in Vietnam” labels, “especially for enterprises with a sudden increase in the number of applications for certificates of origin,” the Vietnamese trade ministry’s document said.
It instructs officials to propose, when needed, “specific measures to prevent illegal transhipment”. The directive was issued after an emergency meeting held by Vietnam’s government office early in April, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the duties.
