Trump administration took ‘action’ against Chinese-owned company in Wisconsin
The Trump administration’s Customs and Border Protection issued an enforcement action against Milwaukee Tool, a Wisconsin-based company owned by Hong Kong–based techtronic Industries, following a complaint that the firm was evading tariffs by transshipping products from China through Taiwan and Vietnam. The case, described by sources as potentially signaling criminal charges against the company or it’s employees, came after a federal review prompted by the Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity and tariff Integrity. CBP says the examination has concluded with an enforcement action,but it would not disclose specifics. The episode highlights questions about Milwaukee Tool’s manufacturing footprint,including a high share of shipments not subject to Section 301 tariffs and exports from Taiwan and Vietnam despite China being its largest manufacturing base. There is speculation of a broader, cross‑agency inquiry under a Trade Fraud Task Force announced by the Trump administration, aiming to crack down on tariff evasion. The article also notes prior scrutiny of a Milwaukee Tool supplier for forced labor in Xinjiang, with the biden administration later banning gloves from Shanghai Select for convict labor.
Trump administration took ‘enforcement action’ against Chinese-owned company based in Wisconsin
EXCLUSIVE — U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued an enforcement action against a Wisconsin-based manufacturing company last year, which persons familiar with the matter say could foreshadow criminal charges against the company or its employees for tariff evasion.
The company, called Milwaukee Tool, is headquartered in Milwaukee but is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Techtronic Industries, which acquired it in 2005 for more than $600 million. TTI has similarly acquired a number of other previously American-owned hardware manufacturers, including Dirt Devil, Imperial Blades, Hoover, and Oreck.
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Customs and Border Protection launched a federal investigation into Milwaukee Tool last year after the Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity filed a complaint alleging that the company was transshipping products manufactured in China to the United States through Taiwan and Vietnam, the coalition told the Washington Examiner.
The investigation resulted in an unnamed enforcement action, according to CBP.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted a thorough investigation of the allegation that merchandise was imported into the United States in violation of the customs and trade laws of the United States. The investigation is now closed and resulted in an enforcement action,” CBP wrote to TAPP in an exchange reviewed by the Washington Examiner. “CBP takes all trade violation allegations seriously and is committed to protecting United States industries and businesses from unfair trade practices.”
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Milwaukee Tool for comment.
The Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity’s allegations stemmed specifically from a case study published by Tariff Integrity and TAPP that found that 91% of Milwaukee Tool shipments were not subject to Section 301 tariffs, which specifically target Chinese exports of technologies, intellectual properties, and industrial goods to the United States, despite the company’s expansive manufacturing footprint in China.
Seven percent of Milwaukee Tools’ exports to the U.S. also came from Taiwan, despite having no manufacturing presence there. Furthermore, Milwaukee Tools’ Vietnamese export volume to the U.S. was almost twice that of its Chinese export volume, despite China being the company’s largest manufacturing footprint.
In its statement to the Washington Examiner, CBP noted that “the Trade Secrets Act, the Privacy Act, and other CBP regulations and related statutes prevent us from sharing specific information regarding this case,” and declined to “disclose what specific enforcement actions were taken.”
“Thank you for helping us to protect the U.S. economy,” the message ends.
“We applaud the CBP’s work and thank the officials involved for their swift and decisive action,” Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity Executive Director Kent Kaiser told the Washington Examiner of CBP’s enforcement action.
Department of Homeland Security officials tell the Washington Examiner that, based on the withholding of information, it is likely that the Trump administration is pursuing a broader, cross-department investigation into Milwaukee Tool in the hopes of bringing criminal charges before a grand jury.
“If there’s nothing out in public, I would be leaning that it’s headed in that direction, probably, because there’s definitely going to be fines involved for violations of all the paperwork, everything to do with State Department and Commerce and what you’re supposed to be filing, but there could actually be a potential criminal action in this case,” one source, granted anonymity to discuss department operations, explained. “If the DOJ is on it, then that investigation takes no less than a year before they decide to bring it to a grand jury to move on it.”
The Trump administration announced in August that the Justice Department and DHS would launch a cross-agency “Trade Fraud Task Force” to specifically target tariff evasion cases.
“The President’s America First Trade Policy supports American manufacturing by ending unfair trade practices,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said at the time. “The Civil Division will coordinate with law enforcement partners to bring to justice any parties attempting to harm American workers through evasion of tariffs and other duties.”
CBP, DOJ, and White House officials all declined to comment on whether a wider federal investigation into Milwaukee Tool had been launched.
Milwaukee Tool had previously received scrutiny after one of its suppliers was accused of forced labor to produce work gloves produced in Xinjiang, China, a region known for its abuses of Uyghur Muslims.
In 2024, the Biden administration specifically barred the import of work gloves produced by Shanghai Select and two of its subsidiaries, citing information that “reasonably indicates the use of convict labor.”
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