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Danielle Popov

A US lawmaker has called for an inquiry into Anker, China’s leading portable charging device maker, for alleged tariff evasion and potential abuse of trade.
Representative John Moolenaar, chairman of the US Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, wrote to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick asking him to look into Anker for its “history of selling security equipment that allowed unencrypted video streams to be accessed”.
In addition to looking into Anker’s “unfair direct subsidies, we want to highlight Anker’s import practices and potential tariff evasion”, Moolenaar said in the letter, which was posted on the committee’s website.
Anker did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
The House committee was established in January 2023 with the primary mission of investigating and delivering policy recommendations on the strategic competition between the US and China.

The letter states that Anker bypassed US tariff regulations by re-routing shipments through Southeast Asian countries, and applied other countries’ classifications to its products.
“Information reviewed by the Committee suggests Anker employs various unlawful methods to avoid US tariffs, including misclassifying [batteries as wireless chargers] to obtain non-China country of origin designations,” Moolenaar said.
Moolenaar cited an article from the tech website The Verge which reported on a series of emails from Anker in 2023, which stated that the cameras compatible with Anker’s home appliance brand Eufy produced unencrypted video streams that were uploaded to Eufy’s web portal.
Moolenaar also claimed that Anker’s public financials omitted facility costs, “likely obscuring the true extent of government support for the company”.
The letter came one week after a massive recall of Anker power banks in the US, covering five models. So far, 481,000 units have been recalled due to the lithium-ion battery overheating, posing fire and burn hazards to its users.
The recall was facilitated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). On the day of the recall, the CPSC received 33 reports of explosion and fire incidents, according to its website.
The US recall follows China’s largest power bank scandal, when Romoss and Anker launched massive recall programmes for over 1.2 million power banks. In March, China’s Civil Aviation Department announced that passengers would no longer be allowed to store power banks in overhead compartments on domestic flights.
Both companies cited problematic battery cells that overheated, making them fire hazards. In July, Romoss shut down production abruptly, leaving its workers in disarray.


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Tech

Tech War

Congressional letter alleges that Anker bypassed US tariff regulations by re-routing shipments through Southeast Asian countries


Congressional letter alleges that Anker bypassed US tariff regulations by re-routing shipments through Southeast Asian countries.


China’s Anker faces US scrutiny for alleged tariff evasion and security risks

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Congressional letter alleges that Anker bypassed US tariff regulations by re-routing shipments through Southeast Asian countries

Congressional letter alleges that Anker bypassed US tariff regulations by re-routing shipments through Southeast Asian countries