US says dozens of countries helped China dodge Trump’s tariffs

The White House has reported that over 40 countries have assisted China in evading US tariffs by routing exports through nations with lower import duties. Countries like Canada, India, Mexico, Japan, and South Korea are among those cited for having helped China evade tens of billions of dollars in tariffs. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro emphasized that this has resulted in job losses and substantial revenue loss for the US.

A spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington dismissed the accusations, stating that "trade wars have no winners" and opposing the use of state power to target China's companies. They emphasized that any unilateral actions or agreements concerning transshipped goods must not harm the interests of third parties. The BBC has reached out to the US embassies of the countries listed in the report for further comment.

The report follows a series of sanctions between the US and China and comes as President Donald Trump prepares to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington, just weeks away. Estimates suggest that between $30bn and $300bn in goods have been transshipped from countries with higher tariffs to those with lower rates. This practice, known as transshipping, involves transferring cargo through another country during its journey to its final destination.

The US accused China of exploiting this method by moving goods through nations with lower duties. China has been accused of using third countries as a stopover and repackaging goods to conceal their true origin, in order to obtain lower tariffs. The report describes this as "fraud cloaked in paperwork." The US has employed artificial intelligence tools to detect these transshipping efforts.

The report is expected to add to the key issues between the US and China as Trump and Xi prepare to meet in September. Despite a temporary suspension of most tariffs following talks in May 2025, tensions between the two nations have persisted, including restrictions on humanoid robots shipped to the US and tighter Chinese regulations on drone exports.

In April 2025, Trump imposed wide-ranging tariffs on numerous US trading partners, believing that tariffs would boost American jobs and the economy. These sanctions were later overturned by the US Supreme Court, but Trump has continued to introduce new tariffs using alternative legal methods to maintain his policy.