The White House says that a network of over 40 countries—listed in a Thursday report—served as conduits for China to sidestep federal tariffs on goods still destined for U.S. buyers.
Canada, India, Mexico, Japan and South Korea were named as key nodes, and the report estimates that between $30bn and $300bn worth of products were shipped through them, thereby paying lower duties than under U.S. law.
Peter Navarro, a trade adviser, warned that these manoeuvres hurt both American jobs and revenues.
China’s embassy to Washington replied that unilateral tariff relief is bluff and that the practice is commercially neutral, noting that transshipping is a long‑standing global trade tool. It urged the U.S. to refrain from targeting third‑party interests.
The White House added that it is now using artificial intelligence to detect and flag transshipped cargo and called the practice a “Great Transshipment Scam.”
This new accusation comes ahead of a scheduled meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in September and follows a series of WTO‑style disputes that have already strained bilateral ties.
While most U.S. tariffs on China were temporarily lifted after talks in May 2025, the two countries maintain a barrage of reciprocal sanctions, such as restrictions on the export of humanoid robots and tighter controls on drone technology.
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down some of Trump’s earlier tariffs as unconstitutional, but the administration has continued to pursue alternative legal levers to impose new charges.
