White House report claims tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue lost to transshipments.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has accused dozens of countries of helping China to illegally dodge United States tariffs, depriving government coffers of tens of billions of dollars in annual revenues.
In a report published on Thursday, the White House said more than 40 countries have participated in a shadow logistics network facilitating the flow of Chinese goods into the US under false labelling.
China’s biggest enablers in the “Great Transshipment Scam” include the European Union, Mexico, Canada, India, Japan and South Korea, the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy said in the report.
Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia, also play “an important role” in the network, the trade policy office said.
US manufacturing sectors hit hardest by the transshipments include electrical equipment, integrated circuits, aluminium products and motor components, according to the report.
“Every dollar lost to this Great Transshipment Scam is a dollar stolen from American workers, manufacturers, and taxpayers,” the office headed by Trump appointee Peter Navarro said in the report.
China’s embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of regular office hours.
The dozens of countries named in the report have yet to publicly respond to its claims.
Warning that countries facilitating transshipments are being “put on notice”, the White House said border authorities have employed artificial intelligence to integrate shipment data and other information as part of strengthened enforcement efforts.