South Korea uncovers multi-million dollar scheme to bypass US tariffs

South Korea’s customs agency has uncovered a significant rise in efforts to mislabel foreign products as Korean exports, predominantly from China, in an attempt to bypass U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs.

A special investigation revealed violations worth nearly $20.81 million in the first quarter of 2025, with the majority of these shipments destined for the U.S., Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

South Korea’s customs agency, the Korea Customs Service, reported on April 21 that it had identified 29.5 billion won (approximately $20.81 million) worth of violations related to the country-of-origin markings in the first quarter of 2025. A staggering 97% of these shipments were headed for the United States. This marks a sharp increase from the 34.8 billion won (roughly $23.7 million) in violations recorded across all of 2024, in which U.S.-bound shipments made up 62%.

The surge in attempts to circumvent tariffs comes amid the ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, which have escalated since Donald Trump took office. Trump’s administration imposed significant tariffs on various foreign goods, including 25% on South Korean imports, which were later suspended for three months. In retaliation, the U.S. has slapped punitive tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods, driving companies to seek ways around the restrictions.

The findings include instances such as 3.3 billion won (around $2.24 million) worth of cathode materials for batteries, imported from China but falsely marked as South Korean origin to sidestep U.S. tariffs. Additionally, surveillance cameras worth 19.3 billion won (approximately $13.3 million) were imported from China in parts and reassembled in South Korea, again to evade U.S. restrictions on Chinese communication devices.

In response to the growing trend, the Korea Customs Service has established a special task force dedicated to identifying and preventing these illegal export attempts. The agency also plans to implement more targeted measures to safeguard the interests of domestic businesses from these foreign circumventions.

 By Aghakazim Guliyev