Overview
- Ceratizit USA agreed to pay $54.4 million to resolve allegations it avoided duties on Chinese tungsten carbide by transshipping through Taiwan, misclassifying products, and failing to mark origin.
- The Ceratizit matter arose from a qui tam suit in the Eastern District of Michigan, and the whistleblower is expected to receive about $9.75 million.
- In a separate resolution, DOJ declined to prosecute MGI International under its Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy after the company self-reported, cooperated, remediated, and previously paid $6.8 million in a related FCA settlement.
- MGI’s former chief operating officer was charged in New Hampshire and agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to smuggle goods by directing false country-of-origin declarations to avoid Section 301 tariffs.
- DOJ highlighted cross-agency coordination with CBP through the Trade Fraud Task Force, which is using parallel civil and criminal tools, data analytics, and whistleblower tips to target tariff evasion.