HANOI: Vietnam’s trade ministry has issued a directive to crack down on illegal transhipment of goods to the United States and other trading partners as it tries to avoid steep US tariffs, according to a document reviewed by Reuters.
The ministry in the directive, which was dated and effective Apr 15, said trade fraud was likely to increase amid growing tension caused by US 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 transhipment fraud might originate. However, Vietnam imports nearly 40 per cent of goods from China and Washington has openly accused Beijing of using the Southeast Asian nation as a transhipment hub to dodge US duties.
Vietnam has been slapped by the Trump administration with 46 per cent “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.
