DHS raids Chinese car parts maker's U.S. headquarters

DHS raids Chinese car parts maker’s U.S. headquarters

The Department of Homeland Security executed a search warrant last week at the Ohio-based U.S. subsidiary of Qingdao Sunsong, a Chinese automobile parts manufacturer that a congressional committee has accused of trade fraud.

The big picture: There is growing concern among lawmakers that Chinese companies are evading U.S. tariffs.

What’s happening: DHS agents searched the premises of Harco Manufacturing Group in Moraine, Ohio on Thursday, Dayton Daily News and other local news reported.

• Sunsong Holdings acquired Harco Manufacturing Group in 2015.
• The search was held at 3535 Kettering Boulevard, the address of Harco’s plant, and the same address that Sunsong North America lists on its website.

What they’re saying: The search was “part of an ongoing federal investigation,” a DHS spokesperson told Dayton Daily News.

• DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sunsong North America and Harco did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Details: In September, members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party wrote a letter to DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that accused Qingdao Sunsong of moving some of its production to Thailand in order to evade U.S. tariffs.

• The letter cited Qingdao Sunsong’s public filings, which state the company’s products are subject to U.S. import tariffs of 25% imposed on certain goods made in China and that “in order to reduce tariff costs, the issuer has accelerated production in Thailand.”
• In the letter, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) call Sunsong’s activities a “case of blatant trade fraud that is having a catastrophic impact on American manufacturers.”
• “The use of transshipment to evade United States tariffs is a serious violation of U.S. law and undermines American economic and national security,” the lawmakers wrote.

Background: The Biden administration has kept many of the tariffs that the Trump administration imposed on China beginning in 2018.

• China has failed to meet its commitment under a 2020 trade deal with the U.S. to increase its purchases of U.S. goods and services.

Get more international news in your inbox with Axios World.