Publications
Publications
- February 13, 2025
- Harvard Business Review Digital Articles
Research: The Costs of Circumventing Tariffs
By: Jaya Y. Wen, Ebehi Iyoha, Edmund Malesky and Sung-Ju Wu
Abstract
When tariffs are levied against a specific country, that country might attempt to circumvent the tariff by rerouting products through a third country to avoid the higher taxes. Research in the aftermath of the 2018 U.S.-China trade war examined this phenomenon, finding that, while tariff circumvention through Vietnam did happen, it wasn’t as widespread as many had initially thought. That said, there still was an increase in tariff circumvention more broadly, and specifically via Chinese-owned firms in Vietnam. The findings suggest that if a country is considering implementing tariffs, a better approach might involve ownership-based duties or firm-specific sanctions instead of blanket tariffs.
Keywords
Citation
Wen, Jaya Y., Ebehi Iyoha, Edmund Malesky, and Sung-Ju Wu. "Research: The Costs of Circumventing Tariffs." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (February 13, 2025).