Perfectus: A Major Settlement, But More Than a Decade of Delay

DOJ announced (opens in a new tab) that Perfectus Aluminum and affiliated companies agreed to pay $549.5 million to resolve civil allegations of evading duties on Chinese aluminum extrusions imported from 2011 to 2014. Corporate defendants were convicted in a related criminal case in 2021. This is significant enforcement, supported by investigators, prosecutors and whistleblowers—but an agreement to pay is not proof of collection.

The timeline is troubling. Years passed between the imports, the criminal case and the civil settlement. During that period, lawful competitors had to contend with prices shaped by duties allegedly avoided. Our Case Tracker's Key Insights show an 8.3-year average from first violation to resolution among closed cases with sufficient data.

The question is not whether a settlement is acceptable. It is whether the government recovers the money, imposes consequences greater than the benefit of misconduct, and can deliver comparable results before the competitive damage becomes permanent.