White House says dozens of countries helped China evade US tariffs

The White House released a report on Thursday claiming that more than 40 countries have assisted China in sidestepping American import tariffs by routing their exports through nations that face lower tariff rates imposed by the United States.

Among the countries explicitly named in the report are Canada, India, Mexico, Japan and South Korea. According to the White House, these nations have inadvertently or deliberately helped China evade tens of billions of dollars in tariffs, costing the US economy significantly in revenue and domestic jobs.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

Government and private sector estimates cited within the White House report indicate that a staggering amount of goods—ranging between $30 billion and roughly $300 billion—have been shifted from countries facing higher tariff barriers through nations with lower rates. This logistical practice is known as transshipping, which involves transferring cargo through an intermediary country while on route to its final destination.

The US government accused China of taking advantage of this loophole by utilizing third countries as stopovers and repackaging goods to obscure their true country of origin in order to secure lower tariff rates. The report vividly described this sophisticated method as "fraud cloaked in paperwork" and noted that Washington has deployed artificial intelligence (AI) tools specifically designed to catch such transshipment efforts.