WASHINGTON — Ford Motor can pay $365 million to resolve U.S. allegations it violated a federal tariff regulation by misclassifying and understating the worth of lots of of 1000’s of its Transit Join automobiles.
The Justice Division stated the settlement resolves allegations that Ford devised a scheme to keep away from greater duties by misclassifying cargo vans imported from Turkey from April 2009 to March 2013.
The federal government stated the settlement is among the largest customs penalty settlements in latest historical past.
“Ford strongly disagrees with most of the characterizations within the DOJ’s assertion and admits no legal responsibility on this matter,” a Ford spokesperson stated. “However within the curiosity of shifting on from this advanced, decade-old dispute, we’ve got agreed to settle the matter as soon as and for all.”
Customs and Border Safety dominated in 2013 that Transit Connects imported as passenger wagons and later transformed into cargo vans have been topic to the 25% obligation relevant to cargo automobiles, moderately than the two.5% passenger car obligation.
The Justice Division stated Ford imported the automobiles “with sham rear seats and different momentary options to make the vans seem like passenger automobiles. These momentary rear seats have been by no means supposed to be, and by no means have been, used to hold passengers.”
Ford included these seats and options to keep away from paying the 25% obligation fee, the federal government stated.
After Customs clearance, the Transit Join automobiles have been instantly stripped of rear seats and returned to its unique identification as a two-seat cargo van.
“The federal government won’t allow firms to evade duties by including sham options to their merchandise after which misclassifying them,” stated Brian Boynton, head of the DOJ Civil Division.
Ford stated in 2021 it may resist $1.3 billion in penalties in a long-running dispute over import duties paid on Ford Transit Join automobiles after the Supreme Court docket declined to listen to its enchantment in 2020 that it paid elevated duties for some prior imports.
The 25% tariff stems from a Sixties commerce conflict involving frozen hen, and the bigger tariff on cargo automobiles is called the “hen tax.”
Ford shares have been down 0.5%.
