Overview

• Ford Motor Company has agreed to pay $365 million to settle allegations of a multiyear scheme to import misclassified Transit Connect vehicles, avoiding higher tariffs.
• The settlement resolves claims that Ford imported over 160,000 Transit Connect vehicles from Turkey between 2009 and 2013, misclassifying them to pay a lower duty rate.
• Prosecutors accused Ford of installing temporary rear seats in the vehicles to classify them as passenger vehicles, thereby paying a 2.5% duty instead of the 25% cargo vehicle rate.
• The Justice Department described the settlement as one of the largest customs penalty settlements in history, emphasizing the importance of compliance with U.S. trade laws.
• Ford disputed the claims but agreed to the settlement to move on from the decade-old dispute, admitting no liability.