White House Report Accuses Major Trading Partners of Enabling Chinese Tariff Evasion

A White House report titled The Great Transshipment Scam has identified more than 40 countries as potential facilitators of Chinese tariff evasion. The report alleges that Chinese exporters route goods through third countries to create the appearance of a different national origin, thereby avoiding U.S. tariffs. The Office of Trade and Economic Analysis estimates that approximately $67 billion in U.S. bound goods were transshipped from China through top hubs including Mexico, India, and Vietnam in 2025, resulting in an estimated $28 billion in lost tariff revenue. Other estimates suggest annual losses between $19 billion and $26 billion.

The report categorizes countries into tiers based on the level of risk. Tier 1 includes Canada, the European Union, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan. These nations are described as China's biggest enablers because they maintain diversified industrial bases and major export platforms to the U.S. allowing illegal transshipment to be embedded within legitimate trade flows. Specifically, the report cites the Pune, Gujarat, and Chennai belt in India as an area enabling this practice, which allegedly affects industrial supply chains in U.S. cities such as Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus.

India's external affairs ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, stated that the government is studying the findings and methodology of the report. Jaiswal defended India's national framework, noting that the country has robust laws governing customs, rules of origin, and exports. While center right coverage focuses on India's official defense of its legal framework and the dismissal of external pressure regarding internal legislation, center left coverage emphasizes the broader geopolitical tension, highlighting other existing U.S. tariffs on India related to forced labor and Russian oil imports.