The White House released a report on Thursday accusing more than 40 countries of enabling China to circumvent US tariffs through transshipment — a practice in which Chinese goods are rerouted through third-party nations to disguise their origin before entering the United States. The administration estimates the scheme is costing the federal government between $19 billion and $26 billion in tariff revenue annually.

Transshipment involves shipping goods from China to an intermediary country, where they may undergo minimal processing or repackaging before being exported to the US under that country's trade status, thereby avoiding the higher tariffs applied to Chinese imports. The report identifies the scale of the problem as significantly larger than previously acknowledged by the administration.

The findings represent one of the most comprehensive public accounting of alleged tariff evasion activity released by the executive branch since the US-China trade dispute escalated. Officials indicated the report is intended to put named countries on notice and could lay the groundwork for new tariff measures or trade negotiations aimed at closing the identified loopholes.

The report does not detail specific retaliatory actions but suggests the administration is building a case for further enforcement. Trade experts have noted that transshipment has grown as a concern across multiple administrations, though the scale cited in the new report is notably high. The White House framed the findings as evidence of deliberate economic manipulation undermining American trade policy.