The White House released a report on August 13, 2026, accusing China of using over 40 countries to transship goods and avoid US tariffs imposed during the Trump administration [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The countries named include Canada, India, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and around nine Latin American nations such as Panama and Colombia [1, 4, 8, 6, 7].

Transshipment involves rerouting Chinese goods through third countries with lower US import duties to disguise their origin and avoid higher tariffs [1, 2, 4, 7]. The report detailed practices such as limited assembly, relabeling, repackaging, finishing, re-invoicing, and false country-of-origin declarations as part of this scheme [2, 6].

The estimated annual value of goods involved ranges widely from $30 billion to over $300 billion, with a central estimate near $75 billion [1, 2, 3, 6, 7]. The lost US tariff revenue tied to this activity is estimated between $19 billion and $26 billion annually [3, 6]. Economic modeling further suggests the transshipment displaced about 450,000 American jobs and cost up to $150 billion in GDP [2, 3].

Peter Navarro, White House trade adviser, called it a "modern form of smuggling" using a "global Shadow Transshipment Network." He said, "Every dollar lost to this Great Transshipment Scam is a dollar stolen from American workers, manufacturers, and taxpayers" [1, 5, 6].

The report comes amid ongoing US-China trade tensions and ahead of a planned September 2026 meeting between former President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington [1, 4, 7]. US imports directly from China fell to a 16-year low of $308.7 billion in 2025, while imports from countries like Mexico and Vietnam rose sharply, attributed partly to transshipment [3].

The US Customs and Border Protection agency is deploying artificial intelligence tools to detect and combat illegal transshipment practices [1, 3, 5, 6, 7]. The White House report, titled "The Great Transshipment Scam," runs 25 pages and offers a detailed review of the scope and mechanics of the alleged tariff evasion network [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

The Trump-Xi meeting in September is expected to occur amid pressure from these latest allegations and ongoing tariff disputes between the two countries [1, 4, 7].