Chinese goods disguised as Vietnamese goods are everywhere

Not only do they import goods from China and remove the "Made in China" label and attach the Vietnamese origin to consume them, there are many 100% Chinese products that are manufactured by buyers and labeled "Made in Vietnam" before being brought to Vietnam.

From textiles, ceramic tiles to fruits and vegetables...

According to information from the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, from June 2017 to now, more than 13 shipments of clothing, shoes, accessories, printers... of 5 importing enterprises have been discovered and seized with the label of origin "Made in Vietnam".

In particular, many fashion items with famous brands or export products are labeled "Made in Vietnam" but are actually imported from China.

According to authorities, these shipments are often temporarily imported into Vietnam, re-exported through Cambodia, Laos or "mixed" and then smuggled into domestic consumption.

It is easy to find many Chinese clothing products "disguised" as Vietnamese goods in the markets.

Not only garments, many other industries are also in a similar situation. According to the warning of the General Department of Customs, some cases of bringing Chinese goods into Vietnam's industrial zones for assembly, or just labeling the packaging "Made in Vietnam" to export to a third country where Vietnam enjoys preferential tariffs.

Typical examples are gas stoves, ovens, microwaves, Rang Dong light bulbs, etc. imported from China and labeled with Vietnamese brands for consumption. Regarding agricultural products, in addition to Chinese fruits and vegetables imported into Vietnam labeled as originating from developed countries such as Australia, the US, Japan, etc., there are also many Chinese fruits "disguised" as Vietnamese fruits: oranges, tangerines, apples, etc.

Many businesses "died"

Ms. Vu Kim Hanh, Director of the Center for Business Research and Enterprise Support, affirmed that Chinese goods "disguised" as Vietnamese goods is a disaster for domestic enterprises.

“I once went to Tho Tang, a Chinese goods hub, and waited there for several nights to see how the transportation and distribution to Vietnam was, and then I realized how terrible it was. It is a fact that many high-quality Vietnamese goods businesses that were eager to “go north” a few years ago have now given up because they cannot stand Chinese goods.

Not only labeled as Vietnamese, Chinese goods imported into Vietnam are labeled as Thai, mixed right in Thai goods fairs held in Vietnam, sneaked into Vietnam's high-tech agricultural zones, enjoyed preferential tax rates, imported their agricultural products, cleaned them slightly, and labeled them as high-tech Vietnamese origin. Or many paper products are labeled as Vietnamese but imported intact from China...", Ms. Hanh informed and bitterly commented: "There have been many Vietnamese manufacturers and traditional Vietnamese craft villages that have quietly "passed away" because of the disaster of Chinese goods disguised as Vietnamese goods".

Trade expert Vu Vinh Phu - Chairman of the Hanoi Supermarket Association, analyzed that Chinese goods "disguised" as Vietnamese goods appear more often when Chinese goods are of poor quality and toxic, causing consumers to be wary and even boycott them.

Another factor is that Thai goods have been imported into Vietnam for many years at low prices, and are considered as “substitutes” for Chinese goods in the domestic market. Therefore, Chinese manufacturers have had to change their “tricks”, in which “disguising” as Vietnamese goods is one of the tricks.

“However, the problem is not as important as the fact that we ourselves are enthusiastically supporting this trade fraud. Vietnamese businessmen go all the way to China to place orders, and always agree to attach Vietnamese origin to buy goods,” Mr. Phu “diagnosed” and affirmed that the responsibility for the situation of Chinese goods disguised as Vietnamese goods rampant in the domestic market belongs to the market management agency.

“Where is the market management so that Mr. Khaisilk could sell Chinese silk products labeled as Vietnamese for 30 years without being discovered? Where is the market management so that shopping malls and wholesale markets from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are flooded with Chinese products labeled as Vietnamese products? These products are also being smuggled into Vietnamese and Thai goods fairs… I think there must be the support or indifference of the authorities. Therefore, I completely agree with the opinion of the Minister of Industry and Trade to review the responsibility of managers in this matter,” said Mr. Phu.

According to TNO