Vietnam’s Ba Ria-VUNG Tau province’s Customs Department seized a suspicious aluminium shipment worth USD 4 million that was heading to the US and other countries. A General Department of Vietnam Customs director-general Nguyen Van Can said this was the largest place-of-origin fraud ever uncovered in the country. Mr Can said the shipment belonged to a corporation which had its own production line but imported aluminium ingots, bars and semi-finished products from abroad to export to the US, among others. He added that after becoming suspicious, the General Department of Vietnam Customs collaborated with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other relevant agencies to investigate and block the shipment.
Mr Can said that “The Vietnamese customs authority has also worked with US customs officers and the Department of Homeland Security who have sent agents to Vietnam to verify the case.”
Vietnam’s aluminium exports to the US were subject to a tax of about 15%, but products from China were levied at up to 374%. (From Aluminum Network)