Over 90% of all Chinese vape products imported to the United States in 2024 were not recorded in American import data, and experts warn that the Chinese products are being deliberately mislabeled to avoid duties and regulations.
Export data from the Chinese Communist Party reveals that Chinese companies sent just over $3.7 billion worth of vapes and e-cigarettes to the United States in 2024. But American import data from the country only recorded roughly $317,792,868 worth of products coming in throughout 2024. Experts say that the massive discrepancy is due to widespread, fraudulent mislabeling that the Chinese use to evade regulations.
This mislabeling could allow Chinese companies to dodge duties, FDA regulations, and the 170 percent tariff placed on vapes from China.
Evan Swarztrauber, a senior fellow at Foundation for American Innovation, told The Daily Wire that “lax enforcement” has allowed these Chinese products to circumvent American laws.
“The Chinese government is smuggling billions of dollars worth of unsafe, illegal e-cigarettes into the U.S. For too long, lax enforcement has enabled these unauthorized vapes to evade customs and tariffs while targeting American kids,” Swarztrauber charged. “Parents and policymakers are demanding a crackdown, and it’s past time to ramp up enforcement.”
Some Chinese shipping companies openly advertise that their shipments of vapes and e-cigarettes into the United States are seldom inspected. Hosto, a company specializing in shipping e-cigarettes from China to the United States, boasted at the 2023 World Vape show that it enjoys a “low inspection rate” when importing products.
The company’s CEO, Qian Liqun, said in 2023 that an increase in inspections presents a challenge for Chinese freightliners like hers.
“Qian Liqun said that a major challenge in the United States this year is inspections. By 2023, inspection rates in Europe and America are increasing,” 2Firsts, a vape industry trade publication, reported. “Faced with a challenging inspection situation, companies need to withstand the pressure and become flexible and powerful. This is what entrepreneurship is about, it requires persistence.”
Another Chinese company, Tiptop International Freight Forwarder, similarly assuaged the concerns of vape manufacturers on their Instagram profile. The company boasted in one post that its vape shipments are “safe” and not expected to face inspection. It told vape manufacturers in another post that it will provide compensation if their products are seized.
Some shipping companies have been caught attempting to smuggle the products into the United States by mislabeling them as other goods. In one incident in late 2023, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents seized $18 million worth of illegal vapes, including some from the Chinese manufacturer behind the popular Elf Bar product. The vapes, authorities said, were mislabeled as shoes, toys, and other items in an attempt to dodge customs restrictions.
The makers behind the Elf Bar and other Chinese vape manufacturers have reportedly smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars worth of e-cigarettes into the United States by labeling their products as battery chargers and flashlights.
Another 53,700 vape products from China were intercepted by CBP agents in Chicago last year. The 179 boxes were labeled as electronic atomizers, which CBP explained is a “common practice used to smuggle unapproved goods into the U.S.”
Attorneys General from 27 different states recently wrote a letter to the Trump administration asking for help “combating the flood of illegal Chinese products — including illegal Chinese e-cigarettes marketed to minors” coming into the country.
“Illegal, flavored Chinese e-cigarettes are flooding the U.S. market in flagrant disregard of State and federal laws. The products have never been approved by the FDA and target America’s youth,” the Attorneys General wrote. “They are often brought into the country in mislabeled packaging or shipped in a manner specifically designed to evade detection by the FDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”
The Attorneys General are now asking for the Trump administration to double down on its efforts to curtail the smuggling of these products, including by “prosecuting identified violators and implementing penalties,” a move that they say would “fundamentally alter the risk-reward calculus for both current and prospective participants in the illegal Chinese e-cigarette supply chain.”
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[[{“value”:”
Over 90% of all Chinese vape products imported to the United States in 2024 were not recorded in American import data, and experts warn that the Chinese products are being deliberately mislabeled to avoid duties and regulations.
Export data from the Chinese Communist Party reveals that Chinese companies sent just over $3.7 billion worth of vapes and e-cigarettes to the United States in 2024. But American import data from the country only recorded roughly $317,792,868 worth of products coming in throughout 2024. Experts say that the massive discrepancy is due to widespread, fraudulent mislabeling that the Chinese use to evade regulations.
This mislabeling could allow Chinese companies to dodge duties, FDA regulations, and the 170 percent tariff placed on vapes from China.
Evan Swarztrauber, a senior fellow at Foundation for American Innovation, told The Daily Wire that “lax enforcement” has allowed these Chinese products to circumvent American laws.
“The Chinese government is smuggling billions of dollars worth of unsafe, illegal e-cigarettes into the U.S. For too long, lax enforcement has enabled these unauthorized vapes to evade customs and tariffs while targeting American kids,” Swarztrauber charged. “Parents and policymakers are demanding a crackdown, and it’s past time to ramp up enforcement.”
Some Chinese shipping companies openly advertise that their shipments of vapes and e-cigarettes into the United States are seldom inspected. Hosto, a company specializing in shipping e-cigarettes from China to the United States, boasted at the 2023 World Vape show that it enjoys a “low inspection rate” when importing products.
The company’s CEO, Qian Liqun, said in 2023 that an increase in inspections presents a challenge for Chinese freightliners like hers.
“Qian Liqun said that a major challenge in the United States this year is inspections. By 2023, inspection rates in Europe and America are increasing,” 2Firsts, a vape industry trade publication, reported. “Faced with a challenging inspection situation, companies need to withstand the pressure and become flexible and powerful. This is what entrepreneurship is about, it requires persistence.”
Another Chinese company, Tiptop International Freight Forwarder, similarly assuaged the concerns of vape manufacturers on their Instagram profile. The company boasted in one post that its vape shipments are “safe” and not expected to face inspection. It told vape manufacturers in another post that it will provide compensation if their products are seized.
Some shipping companies have been caught attempting to smuggle the products into the United States by mislabeling them as other goods. In one incident in late 2023, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents seized $18 million worth of illegal vapes, including some from the Chinese manufacturer behind the popular Elf Bar product. The vapes, authorities said, were mislabeled as shoes, toys, and other items in an attempt to dodge customs restrictions.
The makers behind the Elf Bar and other Chinese vape manufacturers have reportedly smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars worth of e-cigarettes into the United States by labeling their products as battery chargers and flashlights.
Another 53,700 vape products from China were intercepted by CBP agents in Chicago last year. The 179 boxes were labeled as electronic atomizers, which CBP explained is a “common practice used to smuggle unapproved goods into the U.S.”
Attorneys General from 27 different states recently wrote a letter to the Trump administration asking for help “combating the flood of illegal Chinese products — including illegal Chinese e-cigarettes marketed to minors” coming into the country.
“Illegal, flavored Chinese e-cigarettes are flooding the U.S. market in flagrant disregard of State and federal laws. The products have never been approved by the FDA and target America’s youth,” the Attorneys General wrote. “They are often brought into the country in mislabeled packaging or shipped in a manner specifically designed to evade detection by the FDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”
The Attorneys General are now asking for the Trump administration to double down on its efforts to curtail the smuggling of these products, including by “prosecuting identified violators and implementing penalties,” a move that they say would “fundamentally alter the risk-reward calculus for both current and prospective participants in the illegal Chinese e-cigarette supply chain.”
“}]]
