Closed American manufacturing factory representing job losses from trade violations
American flag symbolizing national economic security
Billions in Tariff Fraud
Committed Against the U.S.*
(2018-2024)
$194,449,321,000
2024

Estimated cumulative value of Section 301 Tariffs evaded by Chinese Companies

* Tariff Fraud calculation considers tariffs associated with Section 301 only. The calculation does not consider tariff fraud related to Section 201, 232, AD/CVD, IEEPA tariffs (reciprocal tariffs).

U.S. Manufacturing Jobs Lost (2000-2024)

2024
4,447,333

Source: US Census Bureau

U.S. Manufacturing Businesses Closed (2000-2022)

2022
65,183

Source: US Census Bureau

Trade Crime

America's Lawless Frontier

Trade laws only work when they are enforced.

The failure to enforce U.S. trade laws isn't partisan—it's systemic. Tariffs and rules exist, but many Peoples Republic of China ("PRC") companies and their proxies cheat.

PRC companies have built a structural advantage through decades of state subsidies, stolen IP, and forced labor on a unprecented scale. Since the U.S. imposed tariffs, they have routed goods through third countries to conceal the origin and have gamed paperwork—misstating what the goods are and what they're worth. All to undercut fair competition.

This ends only when violations bring swift, certain, and serious penalties. Today violators break U.S. trade law with impunity—at a staggering cost to American workers and businesses, fair competition, and national security.

Asserting control means making trade-fraud enforcement a national priority, equipping agencies with resources and authority, and insisting on accountability with measurable results. It means urging Congress to close loopholes and fund enforcement that protects American workers and businesses.

This site is a living guide: plain-English explainers, current data, and concrete recommendations for policymakers, agency professionals, business leaders, journalists, and concerned citizens.

What is Trade Crime?

Trade crime is the deliberate, systematic violation of U.S. trade laws to gain unlawful competitive advantage in cross-border trade—undermining fair competition, American workers, and national security.

This is economic warfare

Primary Categories of Trade Crime

Customs Fraud

Customs fraud comes in several forms:

Misclassification
Undervaluation Transshipping
Trade cheats use these — often in combination — to minimize their tariff bills.

IP Theft

Intellectual property (IP) theft is the state-directed or state-tolerated acquisition of proprietary technology, trade secrets, and other protected know-how through illicit means—such as cyber-intrusions, industrial espionage, coercive or forced technology transfer, and other deceptive practices—to gain unfair competitive advantage over innovators.

Handcuffs

Forced Labor

Forced labor in supply chains means work exacted under coercion—by threat, debt, restriction of movement, or other penalties. It can intersect with trafficking, child labor and other crimes. Under U.S. law, any good made wholly or in part with forced labor is barred from entry. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) adds a China-specific overlay to the broader forced labor import ban.

IMPACT

Enforcement Tools

The reporting tools have failed to protect American jobs and American workers

Transparency, accountability, and sense of urgency are neededNOW

eAllegation

eAllegation

CBP

7,100+

Filings (2022-July 2025)

❌ Poor Response Rate

Filers report no feedback and no perceivable outcome

Click to go deeper...
False Claims Act

False Claims Act

DOJ Civil

+10 years

Duration between infraction date and settlement date

⚠️ Limited Effectiveness

Total of 15 cases settled over last two years with a median settlement value of $3M per case.

Click to go deeper...
DOJ Criminal

Criminal Division's Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program

DOJ Criminal, Trade Fraud Task Force

NEW

Launched May 2025

✅ High Potential

70+ cases in pipeline developed by previous Trade Fraud Task Force

Click to go deeper...
EAPA

Enforce and Protect Act Allegation (EAPA)

CBP, ITC, DOC

405

Open Cases (2025)

❌ Ineffective

Shell companies operate with impunity, evading penalties

Click to go deeper...
UFLPA

Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)

CBP, FLETF (DHS)

Active

Xinjiang Focus

⚠️ Mixed Results

Proxy routing continues

Click to go deeper...

The Bottom Line

Current Enforcement Reality

Little to No Transparency on Outcomes
Little to No Impact on Fraudulent Behavior
Zero Deterrence
"The PRC's systematic abuse of U.S. trade laws and protective mechanisms through transshipment, forced labor, and other illicit trade practices represents a clear and urgent threat to American industry and workers… we urge your agencies to strengthen enforcement against the PRC's unlawful trade practices, including by criminally prosecuting trade criminals…"
— Rep. John Moolenaar, Chairman and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member, Select Committee on China in a March 5, 2025 letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer

Where do we go from here?

"Commerce has neither country nor principle but gain."

— Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson's warning echoes across centuries: when we put commerce ahead of country, we pay the price. Today, America is living those costs.

We rightly call out China and its proxies for fraud—but we must also face our own complicity. From procurement teams to C-suites, shortcuts have been normalized and the visible harm ignored.

As Madison argued in Federalist No. 10, when narrow interests profit while the public bears the cost—costs measured in lost American jobs, eroded industrial sovereignty, and weakened economic resilience—you control its effects through law and institutions. In trade, that means visible, even-handed, consequential enforcement. We wrote the rules; the Republic requires that we enforce them.

The stakes could not be higher—for our workers, our communities, our industries, and our way of life.

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