‘Made in South Korea’: How Chinese companies are allegedly ‘evading’ Trump tariffs

Chinese companies are allegedly evading steep US tariffs by fraudulently exporting items as South Korean merchandise, Japanese information outlet Nikkei Asia information reported.
According to Korea Customs Service, exports falsely labeled as made in South Korea amounted to 29.5 billion gained for the January-March quarter. In this, the products exported to the US accounted for 97 per cent.
“The total for all of last year was 34.8 billion won”, it stated. Fraud uncovered to date in 2025 has already reached 85% of the full-year whole for 2024.
According to the report, in some situations, costs of products have additionally been intentionally underneath declared to decrease tariff prices.
South Korea’s customs service highlighted plenty of such schemes, together with the case of Chinese-made mattresses—which are topic to anti-dumping duties in the US—being routed by South Korea.
These mattresses have been saved in warehouses operated by an organization registered underneath a Chinese nationwide’s identify in South Korea, after which exported to the US falsely labeled as South Korean merchandise.
In one other instance, anode supplies used in rechargeable batteries have been shipped from China, repackaged in South Korea, and falsely labeled earlier than being exported.
Similarly, components for surveillance cameras have been imported into South Korea, assembled domestically, after which exported underneath the guise of being South Korean-made.
South Korea’s customs company has now established a particular job power to research and crack down on these misleading commerce practices. Authorities warned that such techniques may undermine South Korea’s commerce credibility and hurt home industries that abide by worldwide rules.
The crackdown comes as South Korea enters a brand new spherical of commerce talks with the United States this week. Analysts counsel the timing could also be strategic, aimed toward demonstrating Seoul’s dedication to curbing oblique exports of Chinese items, a key concern for the Trump administration.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that US officers are anticipated to press their South Korean counterparts throughout negotiations to stop such circumvention of tariffs. In response, China’s ministry of commerce stated that it will reject any commerce deal that compromises Chinese pursuits and vowed to take reciprocal countermeasures if wanted.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has slapped items from China with tariffs which have soared to 145%. Although South Korean items have additionally been hit with “reciprocal” tariffs at the moment on a 90-day pause, their tariff charge of 10% for now’s way more favorable.