Another move from the United States! The White House claims that over 40 countries are helping China "evade" U.S. tariffs through transshipment. On August 13, the U.S. White House released a new report stating that various countries are circumventing U.S. tariffs via third-country transshipment trade. The report specifically mentions that China is using more than 40 countries to reroute goods in order to "avoid" tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. Goods originally destined directly from China to the United States are now being shipped through other jurisdictions.
In these regions, simple operations such as assembly, further processing, repackaging, label replacement, or document changes enable products to appear as originating from different countries. This transshipment method reduces the apparent volume of goods imported from China into the United States while allowing China to continue developing its manufacturing base. It is clear that the timing of this White House report is no coincidence—it clearly carries a message.
The situation is self-evident: according to the schedule, there will be an important meeting between China and the United States, and bilateral economic and trade issues are bound to be central topics. By releasing this report just before a major meeting, the United States is clearly engaging in the typical "pre-negotiation bargaining" tactic. The U.S. message is clear: Chinese products are entering the American market on a large scale through channels the U.S. does not want to see, and the U.S. has fully recognized this issue. The U.S. can choose to turn a blind eye—or it can take retaliatory measures.
By warning over 40 global trading partners in advance, the U.S. is not targeting us alone; it's also sending clear warnings to Mexico, Southeast Asian nations, and allies. There is no doubt that the U.S. may demand cooperation from these countries in aligning with its trade stance and jointly targeting us. However, it must be emphasized that illegally falsifying origin is entirely different from the realities of global industrial division of labor. We do not oppose the U.S. cracking down on origin laundering, but if the U.S. expands the scope of such actions to target our legitimate business trade activities under the pretext of origin laundering, we will certainly retain necessary countermeasures.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1873458341692428/
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