CDZ Can Chinese Avoid Tariff by Rerouting their products through a third country?

[grbb]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

 

[candycorn]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

It likely isn't that easy. What will happen though is that stuff produced in countries we target will sell their goods to other markets.

They can sell it to Jacques in France. They make it for $30 and sell it to Jacques in France. Jacques pays $50 for a widget. He sells it for $90.
They can sell it to Jack in Florida. They make it for $30 and sells it to Jack in Florida. Jack pays $60 for the same widget. He sells it For $105.

 

[Toronado3800]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

It likely isn't that easy. What will happen though is that stuff produced in countries we target will sell their goods to other markets.

They can sell it to Jacques in France. They make it for $30 and sell it to Jacques in France. Jacques pays $50 for a widget. He sells it for $90.
They can sell it to Jack in Florida. They make it for $30 and sells it to Jack in Florida. Jack pays $60 for the same widget. He sells it For $105.

This guy is right.

They'll be small cases of it for sure but to ship something through a third party to avoid a tariff is asking for a lot of efficiency on the third party's part. Not to mention a bunch of idiocracy on the importer's part.

.....although you know, we have a habit of letting companies import illegal aliens for their financial benefit to the detriment of Uncle Sam.

 

[MarathonMike]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

Adding a middleman always adds costs and complication, nothing is for free.

 

[grbb]

That "third" party can be a puppet company.

 

[Flopper]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

What will happen though is that stuff produced in countries we target will sell their goods to other markets.

They can sell it to Jacques in France. They make it for $30 and sell it to Jacques in France. Jacques pays $50 for a widget. He sells it for $90.
They can sell it to Jack in Florida. They make it for $30 and sells it to Jack in Florida. Jack pays $60 for the same widget. He sells it For $105.

This guy is right.

They'll be small cases of it for sure but to ship something through a third party to avoid a tariff is asking for a lot of efficiency on the third party's part. Not to mention a bunch of idiocracy on the importer's part.

.....although you know, we have a habit of letting companies import illegal aliens for their financial benefit to the detriment of Uncle Sam.

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

It likely isn't that easy. What will happen though is that stuff produced in countries we target will sell their goods to other markets.

They can sell it to Jacques in France. They make it for $30 and sell it to Jacques in France. Jacques pays $50 for a widget. He sells it for $90.
They can sell it to Jack in Florida. They make it for $30 and sells it to Jack in Florida. Jack pays $60 for the same widget. He sells it For $105.

This guy is right.

They'll be small cases of it for sure but to ship something through a third party to avoid a tariff is asking for a lot of efficiency on the third party's part. Not to mention a bunch of idiocracy on the importer's part.

.....although you know, we have a habit of letting companies import illegal aliens for their financial benefit to the detriment of Uncle Sam.

Many large US importers will see minimum impacts of larger tariffs by order shifting which is completely legal.

For example, a large textile company with plants in in a number of countries with very low labor costs and very low import tariffs including China India, Turkey, and Pakistan shifts orders between plants as needed. Now the US puts a larger tariff on goods from China. The distributor then switches orders. Pushing orders bound for the US to India, Pakistan, and Turkey. Orders normally routed to these countries are routed to China. All plants are getting the same amount of work and the Trump tariffs are having little if any effect. This is just one of many ways of bypassing or reducing tariffs.

Unfortunately small importers do not have that option and they are the ones that get hurt the most.

 

[candycorn]

It's realtivily eas

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

What will happen though is that stuff produced in countries we target will sell their goods to other markets.

They can sell it to Jacques in France. They make it for $30 and sell it to Jacques in France. Jacques pays $50 for a widget. He sells it for $90.
They can sell it to Jack in Florida. They make it for $30 and sells it to Jack in Florida. Jack pays $60 for the same widget. He sells it For $105.

This guy is right.

They'll be small cases of it for sure but to ship something through a third party to avoid a tariff is asking for a lot of efficiency on the third party's part. Not to mention a bunch of idiocracy on the importer's part.

.....although you know, we have a habit of letting companies import illegal aliens for their financial benefit to the detriment of Uncle Sam.

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

It likely isn't that easy. What will happen though is that stuff produced in countries we target will sell their goods to other markets.

They can sell it to Jacques in France. They make it for $30 and sell it to Jacques in France. Jacques pays $50 for a widget. He sells it for $90.
They can sell it to Jack in Florida. They make it for $30 and sells it to Jack in Florida. Jack pays $60 for the same widget. He sells it For $105.

This guy is right.

They'll be small cases of it for sure but to ship something through a third party to avoid a tariff is asking for a lot of efficiency on the third party's part. Not to mention a bunch of idiocracy on the importer's part.

.....although you know, we have a habit of letting companies import illegal aliens for their financial benefit to the detriment of Uncle Sam.

Many large US importers will see minimum impacts of larger tariffs by order shifting which is completely legal.

For example, a large textile company with plants in in a number of countries with very low labor costs and very low import tariffs including China India, Turkey, and Pakistan shifts orders between plants as needed. Now the US puts a larger tariff on goods from China. The distributor then switches orders. Pushing orders bound for the US to India, Pakistan, and Turkey. Orders normally routed to these countries are routed to China. All plants are getting the same amount of work and the Trump tariffs are having little if any effect. This is just one of many ways of bypassing or reducing tariffs.

Unfortunately small importers do not have that option and they are the ones that get hurt the most.

Additionally, the retaliatory tariffs on American products force people who used to eat our food, use our products, and possibly were curious about what else Firestone or Hersey Chocolate offered are now using Yokohama tires and Nestle chocolate and don't even consider the inflated prices they'd have to pay for American products.

 

[Flopper]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

It likely isn't that easy. What will happen though is that stuff produced in countries we target will sell their goods to other markets.

They can sell it to Jacques in France. They make it for $30 and sell it to Jacques in France. Jacques pays $50 for a widget. He sells it for $90.
They can sell it to Jack in Florida. They make it for $30 and sells it to Jack in Florida. Jack pays $60 for the same widget. He sells it For $105.

You're right it is not that easy. The rate an importer pays in duties depends on the point of origin. Just shipping a washing machine made in China to New Zealand and then to the US does not change the point of origin which is what tariff rates are based on not from where it was shipped.

The actually rules that determine point of origin are very complex and based on where most of the product was built. So if a washing machine was built in China and shipped to Pakistan then just re-shipped to the US, the point of origin and thus the duty would not change.

However, suppose the Chinese manufacturer who buys components from all over the world only shipped the frame without panels, name plate, instructions, warranty, etc to a manufacturer in Pakistan. What is the country of origin? Well that depend how much market value was added by various countries. In real life, the Pakistan company will label the shipment's place of origin as Pakistan and ship it to the US. It will then be taxed at the Pakistan rate which is zero, not the Chinese rate. If there is a question of point of origin it will be the importer's problem, not the manufacturer. In reality, that rarely happens.

The forgoing is why economists say tariffs do no protect jobs. They do increase cost to consumers, decrease US exports which do reduce jobs, and create an environment of political corruption in which government determines which industries are favored and which are not.

 

[Toro]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

Yes, to some extent. Chinese companies are already shifting production to Vietnam and Bangladesh.

 

[Flopper]

That "third" party can be a puppet company.

For multinationals, it's often just a different division of same organization.

 

[grbb]

The forgoing is why economists say tariffs do no protect jobs. They do increase cost to consumers, decrease US exports which do reduce jobs, and create an environment of political corruption in which government determines which industries are favored and which are not.

That is precisely why I do not like tariff.

If anything, most government in the world, already favor being employee compared to other occupation. Minimum wage makes it easy for people to become employee. Make it harder for people to start a business.

 

[grbb]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

Just want to points out that I am chinese my self. I put Mr. Ching Chong because it sounds funny. Anyone get offended over jokes can just go fuck themselves.

 

[Flopper]

The forgoing is why economists say tariffs do no protect jobs. They do increase cost to consumers, decrease US exports which do reduce jobs, and create an environment of political corruption in which government determines which industries are favored and which are not.

That is precisely why I do not like tariff.

If anything, most government in the world, already favor being employee compared to other occupation. Minimum wage makes it easy for people to become employee. Make it harder for people to start a business.

One of the biggest problem with tariffs is they help one industry at the expense of another. Typically, the industries favored by government will be selected for purely political reasons, often failing industries with higher prices and lower quality.

For example, the tariff on steel and aluminum is good news for US steel and aluminum producers and thus their employees. However, it bad news for most of the tens of thousands of metal fabricators and their employees who must import most of their raw material from China in order to be competitive.

If a country slaps a 20 percent tariff on imports of beef. The country's beef producers will be much better off because now imported meat is as much as 20 percent more expensive, meaning domestic companies will be able to sell more rib-eyes and raise their prices. That's bad news for restaurants and fans of steaks and hamburgers, who will pay those higher prices.

However, the worst thing about tariffs is government is making the economic decisions instead of the free market. Consumers pay more and get less. Successful producers are penalized and the less successful are rewarded.

It's said all actions have consequences and that is exactly what happens in world trade. For every tariff the US puts on imports from a country, that country puts tariffs on a US export. In the end, everybody loses.

 

[Picaro]

That "third" party can be a puppet company.

That has been happening for a while now, before the tariffs.

The tariffs aren't heavy, pretty light, and it's telling how little effect theirs are having on us, since we export little to them. They're thieves and labor racketeers, as are their fans here in the U.S., so we shouldn't be making them rich in the first place, much less giving away tech to them.

They can sell cheap crap to other countries, but they need the U.S. markets a lot more than more cheap poverty ridden markets like Africa or elsewhere, so that argument falls flat right off the bat; they can't sell most of it at the same prices they sell for in the America market,, and very little savings are passed on to American consumers anyway. The 'Everybody Loses' argument is rather stupid; it basically claims that if we don't let these vermin screw us and destroy our businesses and dump product on our domestic economy then our economy is screwed .... lol lol lol i.e. ridiculously backwards.

Great Britain went to a full laissez faire economy in the mid-1800's; did great for a few at the top, like the bankers and fanciers, but their economy declined and kept declining re domestic industries ans they gradually lost market share to American and Germany, and by WW I were a second rate power, by the end of WW I barely alive.

 

[Picaro]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

It likely isn't that easy. What will happen though is that stuff produced in countries we target will sell their goods to other markets.

They can sell it to Jacques in France. They make it for $30 and sell it to Jacques in France. Jacques pays $50 for a widget. He sells it for $90.
They can sell it to Jack in Florida. They make it for $30 and sells it to Jack in Florida. Jack pays $60 for the same widget. He sells it For $105.

Yet another example of right wingers not actually knowing squat about business, which goes right along with many of them having never actually filled out a tax return, going by their ravings on message boards.

 

[Flopper]

That "third" party can be a puppet company.

That has been happening for a while now, before the tariffs.

The tariffs aren't heavy, pretty light, and it's telling how little effect theirs are having on us, since we export little to them. They're thieves and labor racketeers, as are their fans here in the U.S., so we shouldn't be making them rich in the first place, much less giving away tech to them.

They can sell cheap crap to other countries, but they need the U.S. markets a lot more than more cheap poverty ridden markets like Africa or elsewhere, so that argument falls flat right off the bat; they can't sell most of it at the same prices they sell for in the America market,, and very little savings are passed on to American consumers anyway. The 'Everybody Loses' argument is rather stupid; it basically claims that if we don't let these vermin screw us and destroy our businesses and dump product on our domestic economy then our economy is screwed .... lol lol lol i.e. ridiculously backwards.

Great Britain went to a full laissez faire economy in the mid-1800's; did great for a few at the top, like the bankers and fanciers, but their economy declined and kept declining re domestic industries ans they gradually lost market share to American and Germany, and by WW I were a second rate power, by the end of WW I barely alive.

That "third" party can be a puppet company.

That has been happening for a while now, before the tariffs.

The tariffs aren't heavy, pretty light, and it's telling how little effect theirs are having on us, since we export little to them. They're thieves and labor racketeers, as are their fans here in the U.S., so we shouldn't be making them rich in the first place, much less giving away tech to them.

They can sell cheap crap to other countries, but they need the U.S. markets a lot more than more cheap poverty ridden markets like Africa or elsewhere, so that argument falls flat right off the bat; they can't sell most of it at the same prices they sell for in the America market,, and very little savings are passed on to American consumers anyway. The 'Everybody Loses' argument is rather stupid; it basically claims that if we don't let these vermin screw us and destroy our businesses and dump product on our domestic economy then our economy is screwed .... lol lol lol i.e. ridiculously backwards.

Great Britain went to a full laissez faire economy in the mid-1800's; did great for a few at the top, like the bankers and fanciers, but their economy declined and kept declining re domestic industries ans they gradually lost market share to American and Germany, and by WW I were a second rate power, by the end of WW I barely alive.

When I said nobody will win, I was referring to the US and China. If Trump's trade war continues throughout his term in office, there will certainly be a few countries that will benefit as American importers look for other low cost producers. Two such countries are Brazil and Argentina. Australia seems to be the prime candidate to replace US soybeans.

The idea that America holds the "Trump" card in the trade war with China is just not so. The fact that the US imports from China (500 billion) are twice the exports might lead one to believe that the US will be the hands down winner but lets look a little closer.

If no agreement is reached, economists see a Chinese lost of about 150 billion dollars in exports to the US and 50 billion lost in US exports to China. Job losses in China could reach as high as a million and job loses in the US as high as 250,000.

So the US will certainly win this game. Well, not so fast. There's more than might meet the eye. For instance:

• China has shown no inclination to initiate trade talks with the US. The primary reason is that Xi has little interest in a quick solution. It seems from Chinese propaganda that Xi is using Trump's trade war as a scapegoat for China's most serious problems, education, healthcare, pollution, a banking crisis, etc.
• How badly would the loss of 200 billion in US exports hurt China; not as badly as you might think. Increased exports to the EU and Africa could easily replace the loss of exports to the US in less than 5 years. Although Africa represents only 3% of Chinese exports, they are growing at a 40% rate. Also Trump trade restrictions on exports from the EU will increase exports to China.
• Most of the impact of the Trump's tariffs will not fall on the Chinese government nor Chinese companies but on US companies operating in China and exporting to the US such as Apple who has huge investments in China.
• If China devalues the yuan by as much as 8%, it will totally offset the Trump tariffs.
• China holds a huge number of US treasury bills. If China starts selling treasuries it would push up US interest rates making refinancing the US debt more expense and possibly sending the US economy in the wrong direction.
• China remains North Korea oldest and closest ally as well as there only major trading partner. So far China has seen a denuclearized North Korea as a benefit to China but that could quickly change into a bargaining chip. China can stop US North Korea nuclear talks in a heartbeat.

 

[Flopper]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

That sounds reasonable except that is not how tariffs work. The amount of the tariff is determined by the point of origin and the type goods. The country of origin is were the goods were produced. If Harambe in Mexico sells the goods unchanged to Jim Smith in Texas, the country of origin is still China, not Mexico and Jim Smith will pay the US tariff less any tariff Harambe paid to the Mexican government.

The only way to legally reduce the money paid to the US goverment would be for Harambe to add substantial value to the goods. Then the country of origin would change to Mexico.

 

[grbb]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

That sounds reasonable except that is not how tariffs work. The amount of the tariff is determined by the point of origin and the type goods. The country of origin is were the goods were produced. If Harambe in Mexico sells the goods unchanged to Jim Smith in Texas, the country of origin is still China, not Mexico and Jim Smith will pay the US tariff less any tariff Harambe paid to the Mexican government.

The only way to legally reduce the money paid to the US goverment would be for Harambe to add substantial value to the goods. Then the country of origin would change to Mexico.

I understand. However, things like "substantial value" is very open to interpretation. I think it can be "gamed". How easily I don't know.

In fact, one US factory is closed because it imports stuffs from China and then relabel it, and claim it's made in USA. Somehow that fails.

Another thing that would work is for Chinese companies to have a bunch of different factories in many part of the world.


For example, with the tariff, any consumers of soy bean in Mexico will be able to buy American soybeans. The american soybeans will be cheaper because american can't sell it to china. Then the mexican will sell their soybeans to china while importing tons of american soybeans.

I think xiaomi phone will be the same. Say china have factories in India. The factory in India will export to US. The factory in China will export everywhere else.

There are just so many ways to do these things.

I think the key for Donald's game is the surprise factor. If from the beginning Donald do that, the market will adapt and very little will be done. It's because suddenly Donald prohibits intel to sell anything to ZTE then the chinese are in deep shit. But I think as a nation they will recover and will stop buying stuffs from USA.

Which will have the opposite effect. But this is a bit different than trade war. ZTE cannot buy stuffs because they do bizs with Iran.

 

[grbb]

It's already happeniing
China Trade War Casualties In American Soy Country Still Like Trump

Chinese producers expected to beat US tariffs by rerouting goods

Also China will simply buy soy from other places but US and the US's soy will go to europe.

Your trade war questions, answered

China has a way it could circumvent the tariffs and still get products to the U.S., said Julius Sen, an international trade expert at the London School of Economics: “What China can do is reroute the same product through a third country. So they would just say, this is not Chinese steel, this is British steel.”

I think we have proxy war. Eventually we will have proxy trades. It's going to be a mess. But it'll be there.

The problem with this arrangement is that trades are not easy. A lot of trust need to be developed.

So at the end, even if US and china don't trade with each other at all, China will simply find a way.

 

[Flopper]

A chinaman is producing porcelain, paper, and gun powda.

I am making this up here. Just for sample.

Donald Trump is like, 1000% tariff on all porcelain from China.

Mr. Ching Chong then sell porcelain to Harambe in Mexico, that then sell it to Jim Smith in Texas.

Problem solved.

0% Tariff.

If anything, the only thing Donald Trump did is giving money to traders.

That sounds reasonable except that is not how tariffs work. The amount of the tariff is determined by the point of origin and the type goods. The country of origin is were the goods were produced. If Harambe in Mexico sells the goods unchanged to Jim Smith in Texas, the country of origin is still China, not Mexico and Jim Smith will pay the US tariff less any tariff Harambe paid to the Mexican government.

The only way to legally reduce the money paid to the US goverment would be for Harambe to add substantial value to the goods. Then the country of origin would change to Mexico.

I understand. However, things like "substantial value" is very open to interpretation. I think it can be "gamed". How easily I don't know.

In fact, one US factory is closed because it imports stuffs from China and then relabel it, and claim it's made in USA. Somehow that fails.

Another thing that would work is for Chinese companies to have a bunch of different factories in many part of the world.


For example, with the tariff, any consumers of soy bean in Mexico will be able to buy American soybeans. The american soybeans will be cheaper because american can't sell it to china. Then the mexican will sell their soybeans to china while importing tons of american soybeans.

I think xiaomi phone will be the same. Say china have factories in India. The factory in India will export to US. The factory in China will export everywhere else.

There are just so many ways to do these things.

I think the key for Donald's game is the surprise factor. If from the beginning Donald do that, the market will adapt and very little will be done. It's because suddenly Donald prohibits intel to sell anything to ZTE then the chinese are in deep shit. But I think as a nation they will recover and will stop buying stuffs from USA.

Which will have the opposite effect. But this is a bit different than trade war. ZTE cannot buy stuffs because they do bizs with Iran.

Yes, it’s easy to cheat in regard to adding substantial value. It’s also easy to get caught if you’re a large importer. Customs does not investigate an importer that only imports a few thousand a year but importers that import hundreds of thousands or millions are investigated. It’s a felony to falsifying custom documents to escape paying duty. Even underpayment can result in very costly penalties.

To understand how tariffs work you have to understand two terms, country of origin, the place where the goods are produced and destination country, the place where they are sold. For example, soy beans could be shipped to Japan and stored in a duty free zone and no duty would be due. If they’re shipped from Japan to China for the purpose of sale, China will collect duty applied to US soybeans. Even thou the company producing the goods in the US is the same company receiving the goods abroad for sale, the duty is same.

In fact a large percent of US imports from China are produce in US owned plants in China. For example Apple Computers produces most of it’s products in plants partial or wholly owned by Apple. So when Apple receives products build in the US produced in their plants in China they still have to pay the US duty.

It is a violation of the NAFTA trade agreement to use the agreement as method of escaping duties. As such it is both a violation of both US and Mexican law to use the agreement in such a manner. If Mexico became a conduit for selling US Soybeans to China, China could respond by applying punitive tarries to Mexican exports to China. This is how trades wars expand from country to country.

The only real winner in trade wars are the governments collecting the duty. Consumers pay more. Industries being protected most are usually failing industries that can't compete. Industries that suffer are those that are the most successful and competitive. This is why economists push free trade. Although free trade is hard to implement, once implemented, each country produces what it can produce best. Consumers can get the best products at best prices. It's amazing how well free markets work if we can get government out of them.