California Federal Prosecutors Claim $220 Million, Chinese Enterprises Become Fat Targets for Slaughtering!
Recently, the Office of the California U.S. Attorney announced a criminal case involving anti-dumping duties and origin declarations. Three Chinese individuals and three companies have been charged, with the prosecution issuing a "pre-penalty notice" of up to $222.5 million — a figure that is almost equivalent to the annual revenue of a mid-sized listed company.
At first glance, it seems like just another ordinary case, but digging deeper into the underlying motives, you will find that in the current U.S. trade policy environment, certain enterprises with specific backgrounds, especially those operated by Chinese people, are becoming "high-value targets" in systematic enforcement actions.
According to the indictment, the defendants are accused of evading high anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed by the U.S. on Chinese-made quartz countertops, wooden cabinets, and ceramic tiles through false declaration of product origin, forging documents, and using shell companies to transfer goods. If declared normally, a container of goods worth $100,000 in tiles could face an additional $200,000 or even $300,000 in taxes. Under such cost pressures, some companies choosing to take risks is not surprising.
But the key issue is not "whether there is tax evasion," but "why these cases are concentrated on specific groups." As the largest import gateway in the U.S., the Los Angeles Port and Long Beach Port handle nearly 40% of Asia's imports nationwide, naturally becoming a key area for law enforcement. If California treated all companies equally, it would be understandable, but now it clearly only targets Chinese companies, which is hard to justify.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852721473395723/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.