US Administration Uncovers Over $1 Billion in Trade Fraud

Washington DC. The Donald Trump administration in the United States has uncovered over one billion US dollars in fraud during its campaign against trade fraud. The administration claims this achievement has been made less than a year after a special task force was established to find trade fraud. According to the task force, the amount includes fines collected through criminal and civil lawsuits, settlements, compensation, asset forfeiture, and damages claimed in ongoing lawsuits. Approximately 150 million dollars of the total amount is related to ongoing lawsuits. The Trump administration has made taking action against companies evading trade regulations and increasing customs duty collection a key part of its economic policy. The task force, led by the US Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, was established around the time President Trump implemented high customs duties, which reached up to 50 percent on goods from some countries. Later, the US Supreme Court ruled that the President did not have sufficient legal authority to impose these duties. Due to high customs rates, many importers adopted measures to legally reduce duties. For example, methods such as changing the classification of goods to place them in a category with lower duties or delaying duty payments by using customs-controlled warehouses were used. However, according to the administration, some importers have also resorted to illegal methods. According to an analysis by Goldman Sachs last year, customs evasion could affect over 200 billion US dollars in imports in the long term and result in a loss of approximately 40 billion dollars in customs revenue. The analysis cited methods such as providing incorrect details of the value of goods, giving false information about the country of origin, and sending goods through a third country with lower customs duties as major evasion methods. In the latest case that helped the task force cross the one billion dollar mark, a US jewelry importer has been accused of concealing the actual place of origin by bringing in gold jewelry through another country with lower customs duties. According to the indictment filed in the Northern District Court of Illinois, customs revenue loss of 13.6 million dollars is associated with approximately 240 million US dollars worth of those jewelry items. Colin McDonald, the task force chief and assistant attorney general, stated that anyone who falsifies the classification or place of origin of goods to evade any legally applicable customs duty will be investigated and prosecuted.