Using Javascript import to replace a require() call when importing from a Typescript module

Question

I am maintaining some Javascript code in a React application that imports from a Typescript library using the require function.

The import statement looks like this:

const utc = require('dayjs/plugin/utc');

and has worked in production for quite some time.

The export statement in the Typescript module (file dayjs/plugin/utc.d.ts) is

import { PluginFunc, ConfigType } from 'dayjs'

declare const plugin: PluginFunc
export = plugin

As far as I understand from the documentation, the Typescript statement

export = plugin

is equivalent to the Javascript statement

module.exports = plugin

Furthermore, require(...) should return the value of module.exports. So, in the original code

const utc = require('dayjs/plugin/utc');

I would expect the constant utc to be bound to the value of plugin from the imported file.

So how can I bind utc to the same value using import? I found some hints in an answer to this question: module.exports = ... should be equivalent to export default .... The comments to that answer suggest that the correct way to import would then be:

import utc from "dayjs/plugin/utc.d.ts";

thus binding utc to module.exports which is set to plugin by the Typescript export statement.

Unfortunately, this produces a compilation error:

"default" is not exported by "node_modules/dayjs/plugin/utc.d.ts"

so, apparently, modules.exports = ... is not equivalent to export default ....

By looking at another answer to the same question and at another question, I found the alternative syntax:

import * as utc from "dayjs/plugin/utc.d.ts";

I am not sure how the two differ, but this time the compiler did not complain. However, when I start the application, I get a runtime error:

Uncaught (in promise) ReferenceError: plugin is not defined

so, again, the semantics of my import statement is not equivalent to that of the original solution using require(): At runtime, something different happens. After spending one day on this, I am running out of ideas.

Do you have any ideas as to how to write an import statement that is 100% equivalent to the original code using require()?