A US report has accused more than 40 countries, including India, Canada and EU members, of helping Chinese goods reach America through third-party markets.
The Trump administration also plans to use artificial intelligence to identify suspected illegal transshipment.
Highlights
- The US has named India among more than 40 countries in its transshipment allegations.
- Canada and countries in the European Union have also been mentioned.
- The allegations are contained in a report titled ‘The Great Transshipment Scam’.
- The report was authored by Peter Navarro, Counsellor to the President for Trade and Manufacturing.
- It estimates illegally transshipped goods could be worth between $40 billion and $303 billion annually.
- The US says it plans to deploy artificial intelligence to detect such shipments.
The United States has named India among more than 40 countries that it alleges are being used to route Chinese goods into the American market to avoid tariffs imposed on China.
According to the report, the Trump administration believes a network of third-party markets is helping Chinese goods reach the United States while avoiding applicable American tariffs.
The allegations have been detailed in a report titled ‘The Great Transshipment Scam’, authored by Peter Navarro, Counsellor to the President for Trade and Manufacturing.
India, Canada and countries in the European Union are among the markets named in connection with the alleged network.
The report estimates that the annual value of illegally transshipped goods could range from $40 billion to as much as $303 billion. The estimate varies depending on the methodology used to calculate such trade flows.
Transshipment generally involves goods being shipped through an intermediary country before reaching their final destination. The US allegation is that Chinese goods are being routed through third-party markets to avoid tariffs that would otherwise apply when they enter the American market.
The United States has also indicated that technology will play a bigger role in identifying suspected cases. According to the report, the administration plans to deploy artificial intelligence to detect goods that may have been routed through other countries to evade tariffs.
The allegations come as the Trump administration continues to focus heavily on tariffs and trade practices involving China.
The report places India alongside dozens of other countries in the alleged transshipment network. However, the information provided in the report cited here centres on the US allegations and its estimates of the scale of the suspected trade.
With Washington planning to use AI for detection, scrutiny of global supply chains and the origin of goods entering the United States could increase further.
