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Don’t Let a Chinese Supplier Circumvent You: 5 Tips

May 12, 2020

Don't Let a Chinese Supplier Circumvent You: 5 Tips

Some risks and frustrations never go away... One of them is Chinese suppliers circumventing their customers, or selling to their customer's competitors, all the while using the product knowledge they gained... from their customers. Over the weekend, I stumbled upon a good old HBR article entitled When Your Contract Manufacturer Becomes Your Competitor. It came out in 2006, but the same trends are still at work! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Good Articles, Legal System Tagged With: chinese suppliers, legal risks, manufacturing risk, minimizing risks, risk reduction, supplier management

How To Fight Back Against Fake Goods In China Trade Shows

November 25, 2019

How To Fight Back Against Fake Goods In China Trade Shows

For all the talk about improvements in China's intellectual property protection, many importers are still facing very unethical behavior from their supplier base. And nowhere is it more apparent than in trade shows. The temptation for suppliers to show a customer's innovative product is often too strong. So, how to fight back against fake goods in China trade shows? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legal System Tagged With: China, fake goods, IP, IP leakages, IP security, supplier management, trade fairs, trade shows

What If Your Chinese Supplier Offers To Make Your Product in Vietnam?

February 18, 2019

What If Your Chinese Supplier Offers To Make Your Product in Vietnam?

We heard of several Chinese manufacturers that are opening a Vietnam factory, in order to serve their American customers better by avoiding Trump's tariffs. Sometimes that makes sense, and sometimes it doesn't... If one of your suppliers tell you about their ability to produce in Vietnam, what should you do? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legal System Tagged With: China, tariffs, vietnam

Shipping E-Cigarettes with Lithium Batteries by Air from China

November 2, 2018

Shipping E-Cigarettes with Lithium Batteries by Air from China

By Fabien Gaussorgues With the sharp increase of shipments of electric & electronic devices working with a lithium battery and new rules that appeared recently when it comes to shipments, clients keep asking us about applicable regulations for shipping e-cigarettes. This guide covers the shipment of e-cigarettes, as an example, but it is mostly applicable to other small devices with lithium batteries (smart devices, IoT, Bluetooth speakers, and so forth). Note: on sofeast.com we … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legal System Tagged With: batteries, shipping

How Does the VAT Rebate for Exports out of China work?

August 31, 2018

In most cases, importers don't need to worry about the way their supplier handles the VAT rebate. They are usually better off negotiating a price under the FOB incoterm and avoid worrying about the complex paperwork involved in getting a rebate on the VAT paid on components/materials. However, once they start looking deep in their supply chain, they can identify risks as well as opportunities for saving money. And they might notice that their supplier pockets a margin much higher than they … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legal System

Can Alibaba Really Avoid Counterfeit Goods?

March 17, 2017

I just read a good article in this week's Week In China on the topic of counterfeit goods. It starts by reminding us of the regular accusations of big brands against Alibaba. Last May, brands led by Michael Kors, Gucci and Tiffany resigned their International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition memberships after the board proposed Alibaba for membership, forcing that body to back down. Alibaba's boss, Jack Ma, responded to this and tried to use it for a specific purpose. Ma says the criticism is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legal System

The Risks of Paying Sourcing Contractors (Employees) in China

February 19, 2017

Dan Harris wrote a pretty good overview of the risks of paying an individual as a sourcing/QC employee in China. He relates a recent change he noticed. (On our side, we also heard that controls on incoming flows of money have gotten much tighter over the past 2 months.) China banks (owned by the Chinese government) are providing information to China’s tax authorities regarding account-holders who consistently receive money from foreign companies. China’s tax authorities are apparently going … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legal System

What Regulatory Standards Apply to Garments?

April 6, 2016

Note: all free coupons were used up. But we still got some coupons at 50% discount. If you import products from another country, you should be aware of the regulations that apply to those products. Chances are, your country's authorities will consider you as the manufacturer (since you have put that batch on the market) and will go after your company if they find some irregularities. Large companies know this well and have systems in place to ensure they are (mostly) covered. The problem is, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legal System

What European Importers Need to Know about Compliance: Q&A With an Expert

December 21, 2015

Fredrik Gronkvist is a co-founder of Chinaimportal, a company that helps small businesses import from China through supplier identification & verification services. A part of Fredrik's offer is to help importers understand what regulations and standards they need to comply with. in this Q&A he is sharing his experience about the European Union's requirements. Q: Importers who buy products from China want to be “in compliance”. What does this involve? A 'Compliant product' adheres to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legal System

China Trade Shows: Don’t Get Your New Product Designs Stolen

December 29, 2013

Dan Harris just published advice to exhibitors that showcase their own new product designs. In his words: It should go without saying that you should not reveal anything more at a trade fair than you would otherwise, and you should have an agreement in place (an NDA or an NNN) before revealing any trade secret. This is good advice, but not always sufficient. I think this is a case where non-legal strategies are far, far more effective. Many people walk trade shows with fake name cards. And, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legal System

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Weekly updates for professional importers on better understanding, controlling, and improving manufacturing & supply chain in China.

This is the official blog of Sofeast.com.

This blog is written by Renaud Anjoran, an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer who has been involved in Chinese manufacturing since 2005.

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