According to a document obtained by Reuters, in order to avoid the United States imposing high tariffs on Vietnamese products, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade recently issued a directive requiring a severe crackdown on third countries using Vietnam to "wash the origin" and export products to the United States or other countries.
The document, which takes effect on April 15, states that the number of wash production locations may increase amidst rising tensions caused by U.S. tariffs.
Reuters quoted the document as saying that if not curbed, such fraud will "complicate the implementation of sanctions by countries on imported goods." The directive did not specifically name any country that may be suspected of "laundering origin."
However, since nearly 40% of Vietnam's imports come from China, and Washington has publicly accused Beijing of using Vietnam as a transit hub to circumvent US tariffs, the outside world tends to believe that this order is aimed at "Made in China".
On April 2nd, US President Trump announced the imposition of "reciprocal tariffs" on major trading partners, with rates as high as 46% for Vietnam. Unlike China, Vietnamese President To Lin immediately contacted Trump and voluntarily reduced Vietnam's tariffs on US products to zero. He also dispatched senior officials to Washington to negotiate with the US trade team. On April 9th, Trump announced a 90-day suspension of "reciprocal tariffs" for countries that had sought negotiations, including Vietnam.
As Chinese products face tariffs of up to 245%, not only Vietnam but also some countries have begun to formulate plans to prevent Chinese companies from "washing their origins".
Reuters reported that the order requires officials from the Ministry of Trade, Customs, and other relevant agencies to strengthen supervision and inspection of imported goods and verify their origin, "particularly for imported raw materials used in production and export." Furthermore, stricter factory inspections and regulation of the issuance of "Made in Vietnam" labels will be implemented, "particularly targeting companies that have seen a sudden increase in applications for certificates of origin."
The directive also instructs officials to propose "specific measures to prevent illegal transshipment" if necessary.
According to Reuters, South Korea announced on Monday (21st) that the Korea Customs Service found that there has been an increasing trend in recent attempts to pass off products as Korean products and then export them to foreign countries. Among them, the vast majority of "fake Korean goods" are actually Chinese products that evade high US tariffs.
