Posted on Sep 26, 2019
A Mysterious Pencil Factory Sharpens Focus On Tariff Scams
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Well no surprise there, companies are cheating on the tariffs. Don't want to pay tariffs? Claim your product was made somewhere else.
A Mysterious Pencil Factory Sharpens Focus On Tariff Scams
Posted from npr.org
Foreign Policy
Office of the President (POTUS)
International Trade
Edited 5 y ago
Posted 5 y ago
Responses: 3
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I am quite sure that this practice is widespread.
What you do in response is you simply place that tariff on all manufacturers, then carve out exceptions by line item for manufacturers based in locations that are not subject to trade sanctions or tariffs. That would give all the other manufacturers a competitive advantage, and disincentivize the rebranding approach.
What you do in response is you simply place that tariff on all manufacturers, then carve out exceptions by line item for manufacturers based in locations that are not subject to trade sanctions or tariffs. That would give all the other manufacturers a competitive advantage, and disincentivize the rebranding approach.
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SPC Kevin Ford
1SG (Join to see) This case was particularly sneaky because there was a factory in the Philippines where they claimed the pencils were made. But as it turns out the only work that "factory" in the Philippines did was take the pencils out of the Chinese packaging and put them in new packaging that indicated they made them.
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1SG (Join to see)
SPC Kevin Ford - Seems an awful lot of effort for a very low-value item. If it was an iPhone, you'd have something.
I'll bet I could wrangle a sweet job at the commerce department, sleuthing out this kind of thing. I was supremely good at that in some of my overseas adventures,
I'll bet I could wrangle a sweet job at the commerce department, sleuthing out this kind of thing. I was supremely good at that in some of my overseas adventures,
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SPC Kevin Ford
1SG (Join to see) - I'm sure the profit is made in the volume of the sales on a thin margin. Even then, I'm surprised there are enough people buying pencils these days to make that worth it. I guess they still must be used for standardized tests or something.
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As long as there are rules and there is a financial incentive someone will try to find a way around it.
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Chinese companies have been cheating the system for years. This is nothing new. Look at how they added a little bit of a normal alloying element to pure aluminum and dumped it into our markets as a semi finished product. They play economic hardball.
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