International Coalition Against Illicit Economies (ICAIE) / ICAIE Labs

Amidst current global trade wars: Tariffs evasion via transshipments furthers reinforces unfair trade and expands illicit trade across supply chains: China (and other countries under threat of tariffs or sanctions) have been known to exploit U.S. trade laws—including by unlawfully transshipping products through third countries into the United States—to circumvent tariffs and duties, evade customs enforcement, sanctions or obfuscate the origin of products produced in some cases, whole or in part with forced labor (e.g., China). The use of transshipment to evade U.S. tariffs is a serious violation of U.S. law and undermines American economic and national security. To evade Section 301, 232, and 201 tariffs and duties, many PRC companies ship their "Made in China" products to countries that do not face tariffs at the same level as those the United States imposes on the PRC. Without fundamentally transforming the product, these companies then ship their Made in China products to the United States (EU and other markets) under the guise of being made in a country other than the PRC. According to the US Congress, an entire industry of PRC logistics companies has emerged since the imposition of Section 232 and 301 tariffs on the PRC in 2018, with logistics brokers openly advertising that they can “break […] the barriers of international trade and antidumping to let Chinese products enter international markets successfully” and that “transshipment is the only way to avoid high tariffs and import limits.” These companies boast of tariff evasion by sending steel, aluminum products, clothing, and stainless steel sinks, among other goods, through third countries to the United States, and Europe, including by obtaining false certificates of origin in third countries for goods made in the PRC. As an example, to avoid the tariffs, consumer goods manufacturers are also engaging in?nearshoring?by shifting their supply chains to countries such as Mexico, Slovakia, Vietnam, or other countries not facing an American tariff imposition. Thus, to protect margins without having to adjust supply chains, some Chinese factories are?evading the tariffs?by shipping their US-bound products to neighboring countries including Vietnam and other Southeast markets. Once the goods arrive in Vietnam, they are relabeled as Vietnamese exports and sent to the United States. #tariffs #China #Trump #supplychains #globaltrade #illicittrade #sanctions

Licit-Illicit Cross-Border Gold Vectors: Did you know? The most export-traded products (value) in 2023 were:?Crude Petroleum?($1.28T); Cars?($976B); Refined Petroleum?($931B); Integrated Circuits?($910B); Broadcasting Equipment?($619B); Gold ($574B). [Source: OEC World] Gold prices hit record highs in 2024, with some analysts forecasting the precious metal could reach?$3,000 an ounce?by the end of 2025. But the boom has also been linked to a surge in illegal gold mining and transnational crime. [Source: Federal Reserve Bank, Citi, CNBC, ICAIE] #globaltrade #tariffs #gold #illicittrade #moneylaundering

Growing illegal eggs smuggling into U.S. and breakfast heists across America: With inflationary prices of eggs (and other consumer goods), it was only a matter of time before greedy criminals got into the "breakfast heist" of chicken eggs and the current egg shortages in America to make easy money. Law enforcement officials said the current retail value of the recent trailer heist of 100,000 eggs in Pennsylvania is approximately $40,000. Other criminals have executed their own "breakfast heist" to steal large volumes of cartons of precious eggs across the United States. Rates of egg smuggling have also skyrocketed in recent months at the borders across America as prices spike following?multiple bird flu outbreaks. Americans are smuggling eggs in great numbers into the United States from Mexico and Canada. At the El Paso border station in Texas, agents identified more than 90 people “attempting to import raw eggs from Mexico” between January and February this year. Likewise, the National Post reports that officials at the Detroit-Windsor crossing at the Canadian border have seen a 36 per cent increase in “interceptions of eggs” compared to last year. Overall, from October to February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded a 29 per cent rise in smuggled eggs at US ports of entry. Importation of raw/fresh eggs into the United States is generally prohibited due to concerns about diseases such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and Virulent Newcastle Disease (ND). https://lnkd.in/ePEUeT4U U.S. Department of Homeland Security #illicittrade #eggs #smuggling #organizedcrime #Mexico #Canada

Renegotiating US-Canada borders, revisiting the sharing of water rights between the two nations, and redrawing border treaty demarcations in the Great Lakes? Is this the end-state game in the current tariff row with Canada? Troubling new reports in today's NYT amidst numerous other changing narratives in recent weeks on both sides of the Northern border. One certainty: Americans do love our Canadian friends and maybe through the current market whiplash and chaos on tariffs we are losing sight of the special partnership that we have had on so many joint national security and economic prosperity fronts that have well served the two nations for decades. Bi-directional trade with Canada is good for the American economy, innovative American industries, and American jobs; and Canada-US cross-border cooperation is also good for coordinated law enforcement investigations and operations against transnational organized crime, illicit trade, as well as for our security alliance around the world. #Canada #WhiteHouse #tariffs #trade #GreatLakes

In a few weeks, we will learn from?OECD - OCDE?the latest global estimate on the size and scale of today's counterfeit and pirated goods across illicit markets around the world. But in recent weeks, I have learned even more on the outstanding work by the?U.S. Department of Homeland Security?including?U.S. Customs and Border Protection?and?National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center?in fighting IP crimes. Counterfeits are a global problem with nearly 83% of all CBP IPR seizures coming from China (including Hong Kong) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. As counterfeits proliferate and criminals flood markets with counterfeit and fake goods, consumers must be confident in the safety, quality, and authenticity of the products they purchase online including medicines, electronics, auto parts, and other goods. The sharing of intelligence across sectors becomes critical and great that DHS and the National IPR Center value partnerships with the private sector, who collectively are multipliers to help secure supply chains and stem the tide of counterfeit and pirated goods. From retail stores in main streets to digital marketplaces, despite public and private efforts to-date, the booming the production, trafficking, and illegal trade of counterfeit and pirated goods continues to increase around the world, especially in localities hit by economic downturn or due to inflationary pressure, consumers gravitate to cheaper alternatives (often counterfeit and fake goods). Learn more below about the efforts by DHS CBP and HSI National IPR Center below. #counterfeits #fakes #illicittrade #illiciteconomies #TBML #organizedcrime #China #OECD #DHS #CBP

Look forward to reconnecting with our friends at the Working Party on Countering Illicit Trade (WPCIT) and partners at OECD - OCDE and Business at OECD (BIAC). #illicittrade

In the coming years, the international community will continue to confront a complex global security threat?environment dominated by converging?geopolitical and illicit threat?vectors -- from rising great competition among superpowers to terrorism and from social unrest and violence enabled by the corrosive corruption and financial power of transnational?criminal organizations and non-state actors angling for greater dominance. Make no mistake: A new multi-polar world order is here with us, as new rules, fomented chaos, and deliberate coercive actions reshape today's societies, markets, and governance structures. How will other vectors such as generative AI and rapidly emerging technologies shape this security ecosystem and power realignment??? How will bad actors and threat networks leverage power structures to further exploit vulnerabilities, infiltrating governments, penetrating critical industries, and amassing even greater wealth, market share, and political influence? How will an array of malign influence operators further expand illicit economies in hot spots of insecurity and instability around the world?? Only by examining, and understanding, today's interconnected?spectrum of threats can communities reflect, navigate, and manage inter-linked risk points to mitigate such threats, formulate (better) national security frameworks and actionable responses, and build enduring?resiliency in humanity's?fragility in?a threat convergence world.?? Stay tuned for some of my further insights in the coming months on threat convergence here on my LI page, and also follows us in our new "Illicit Economies of the Shadowverse" investigative docuseries in 2025, and information coming soon on our new webpage to support this important project. International Coalition Against Illicit Economies (ICAIE) / ICAIE Labs Sam Rad ?? (Samantha Radocchia) #strategicforesight #threatintelligence #riskmanagement #innovation #AI

Diplomacy is always a challenge, ups and downs, ironing out the rights and wrongs, managing and adapting to changing geopolitical landscapes and security threat vectors, chaotic many times (shuttle diplomacy to achieve a consensus); both sides should continue to re-engage and negotiate in good faith (not in front of the media) and reach a common understanding, somewhere that is mutually-beneficial for each country's national interest. WH should have not let the cameras roll for as long as it did; best to keep it to a photo op as stated below (like most if not all of these diplomatic visits to the Oval Office); and negotiate in private but with frank, honest, and difficult points until there is in fact a common understanding, taking into account all of current realities: Trump is the current U.S. President; Zelenskyy is President of Ukraine, not a dictator; Putin's war in Ukraine has gone on for too long (needs to end); give-and-take is part of the negotiations; and the US should continue to support Ukraine; halt Russian aggression; and broker a roadmap and a "deal" (agreement) -- including in partnership with the EU and UK -- for just and enduring peace and economic reconstruction in Ukraine, and for greater security in Europe.

As the Chair of the Business at OECD (BIAC) Anti-Illicit Trade Expert Group (AITEG), I look forward to attending our upcoming meetings of the OECD - OCDE Working Party on Countering Illicit Trade (WPCIT), and the inaugural OECD Forum on Countering Illicit Trade, 17-19 March 2025, Paris, France. In addition?to advancing the AITEG priorities of our BIAC members including to confront?illicit trade in counterfeit goods across online?marketplaces, Free Trade Zones (FTZs), and illicit economies, I will also be speaking at a Strategic Dialogue: "Illicit Trade in a Fragmented World: Geopolitical Drivers and Global Risks" and moderating another session on "Trade-Based Money Laundering: Techniques, Trends, and Global?Challenges". The OECD Forum on Countering Illicit Trade aims to highlight the pervasive risks and harmful impacts of illicit trade on modern supply chains and global governance, while emphasizing the value of transparency and cooperation. Discussion will delve into existing best practices, policy gaps, and opportunities for strengthening trade transparency through voluntary public-private partnerships. Learn more about OECD's work programme to counter illicit trade at: https://lnkd.in/dhtzE5Uy Learn more about BIAC's initiatives on countering illicit trade: https://lnkd.in/e_wk2uqd #illicittrade #counterfeits #ecommerce #moneylaundering #TBML #illiciteconomies #FTZs #globaltrade #tradetransparency #supplychainsecurity #publicprivatepartnerships #OECD #BIAC

Mafia war hits Chancay Megaport: extortion and terror in the heart of the port giant: Good to see National Police of Peru (PNP)?examines more closely organized crime and illicit networks related to the new Chancay Megaport (Chinese controlled and operated) including efforts to infiltrate legal business activities in Peru for extortion and other nefarious criminal trafficking opportunities. ICAIE was among the first global security organizations to report on these cross-border threat convergence links to security including the rise of fentanyl, counterfeits and other illicit goods and contraband that organized crime groups would seek to control for lucrative illicit trade and to facilitate illicit economies through the new trans-Amazonian routes, and across the Americas. ? https://lnkd.in/eVchM97G #threatintelligence #fentanyl #illicittrade #illiciteconomies #counterfeits #contraband #corruption #moneylaundering #Chancay #Peru #maritimesecurity #China