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Chinese-made solar components falsely exported as Korean products.
(Photo provided by Incheon Main Customs = Yonhap News Agency) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] KRW 4.7 Billion Worth of Chinese-Made Components Routed Through Korea to Exploit FTA Benefits
A Chinese national has been caught by customs authorities for falsely labeling Chinese-made solar equipment parts as Korean in order to obtain zero-tariff benefits when exporting to the United States.
Incheon Main Customs announced on Feb. 12 that it has booked a 48-year-old Chinese woman, identified as A, without detention and referred her to prosecutors on charges of violating the Foreign Trade Act and the Act on Special Cases of the Customs Act for the Implementation of Free Trade Agreements.
A is accused of establishing a corporation in Korea and exporting 1.3 million Chinese-made solar junction boxes—worth approximately KRW 4.7 billion—to the United States in 19 shipments between March and June of last year, falsely labeling them as products of Korean origin.
A solar junction box is a key component that transfers electricity generated by solar panels to inverters.
Investigators found that after the United States raised tariffs on Chinese solar products from 25% to 50% in May 2024, A devised a scheme to route exports through Korea.
She allegedly imported the components into Korea by declaring them as “parts for manufacturing,” thereby qualifying for exemption from country-of-origin marking requirements and receiving preferential zero tariffs under the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Subsequently, without conducting any substantial processing, she exported the parts to the United States while falsely marking them as Korean-made and fabricating origin certificates. This enabled the goods to receive preferential zero tariffs again under the Korea-U.S. FTA.
Customs authorities said the case represents a deliberate attempt to exploit free trade agreements to circumvent heightened U.S. tariffs on Chinese products.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
