ICYMI: Electronics Company Pays $11.8M to Resolve Duty Evasion Allegations | Customs & International Trade Law Blog

The Division of Justice introduced that Harman Worldwide Industries, Inc., an audio electronics firm, agreed to pay $11.8M to settle allegations of evading duties on items made from aluminum from China.

What Occurred

For a interval of over ten years, from June 2011 to March 2023, Harman knowingly imported warmth sinks that contained extruded aluminum from China with out paying the required antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD).

The settlement additionally reveals that when Harman found its failure to pay AD/CVD, the corporate hid this truth and determined to not disclose it to the U.S. authorities. 

This case arose from a whistleblower lawsuit filed below the False Claims Act, which allows non-public events to file swimsuit on behalf of the US for false claims and share in a portion of the federal government’s restoration. The whistleblower on this case will obtain over $2M of the settlement proceeds.

Enforcement is a High Precedence for the U.S. Authorities

Excessive tariffs within the present commerce surroundings have created a better incentive to cheat. The U.S. authorities has made clear that imposing customs legal guidelines is a high precedence. 

For instance, on Could 12, 2025, Matthew Galeotti, the Head of the U.S. Division of Justice’s Legal Division, despatched a memo to all legal division personnel highlighting the main target areas of the division for white-collar crime.

The memo included an inventory of “high-impact areas” that the division will prioritize investigating and prosecuting. Commerce and customs fraud, together with tariff evasion, was second on the checklist.

The DOJ additionally revised its Company Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program and added “commerce, tariff, and customs fraud by companies” to the precedence checklist.

CBP has additionally famous that “unhealthy actors violating U.S. commerce regulation will likely be recognized, investigated, and punished to the fullest extent of the regulation.”

Now greater than ever, it’s vital for importers to look at their import compliance applications and be sure that sufficient procedures are in place to accurately enter items into the US. Importers ought to proactively conduct in depth due diligence of their provide chains to make sure they’ll detect, report, and treatment any noncompliance with customs necessities. As well as, if an importer turns into conscious of the fraudulent conduct of a competitor, they need to contact counsel to debate choices for reporting it to the federal government.

Diaz Commerce Regulation can help importers in creating compliance plans and information importers within the occasion of a customs investigation. Contact us at 305-456-3830 or information@diaztradelaw.com.

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