The White House has released a report accusing over 40 countries, including Canada, Mexico, and Japan, of assisting China in evading American tariffs. The report discusses redirecting trade flows through countries with lower tariffs. The document is titled "Large-Scale Freight Fraud" and features a Trojan horse on its cover.
According to the White House's theory, Beijing and state-supported manufacturers have directed goods to jurisdictions with cheap labor, weak customs oversight, free economic zones, or simplified access to the US market.
"Over time, these countries with tariffs, now exceeding 40, have become launch pads and centers for a new system of tariff evasion: goods produced mainly in China have undergone minimal processing abroad and have been exported to America under new names," the report states.
The US administration has calculated that due to this scheme, the US loses between $19 billion and $26 billion annually.
"According to the main scenario, illegal freight transshipments worth $75 billion will result in the loss of about 450,000 jobs, and the associated federal revenue losses will amount to $19 billion to $26 billion," the document notes.
Peter Navarro, head of the White House's Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, stated that after the imposition of tariffs by Trump, China has employed "extremely complex" methods to organize freight transshipments, according to the Financial Times.
"For years, large-scale freight fraud has allowed communist China to 'wash' its exports in over 40 countries, steal tens of billions of dollars from our treasury, and take away the wages of American workers," he said.
In November 2025, Trump announced the imposition of 100% tariffs on China. At the end of January, the Republican also threatened Canada with tariffs if it signed a trade agreement with China. He stated that Canada is "seriously mistaken" in allowing China to increase electric vehicle imports.
Later, China called on the US to cancel the unilateral tariffs imposed on its trading partners. Beijing warned that it would closely monitor the US authorities' response actions.
