Tariff Evasion: White House Admits China Is Costing the US Tens of Billions via Third Countries

In August 2026, the administration of US President Donald Trump released alarming data regarding the state of international trade. According to official statements, Chinese exporters are using complex transit schemes through third countries on a large scale to bypass strict tariff restrictions imposed by Washington. The White House claims that this practice leads to colossal losses for the federal budget, estimating the volume of 'circumventing' goods at $75 billion.

Evasion Mechanism: Vietnam, Mexico, and Minimal Processing

The core of the problem lies in the fact that high duties on Chinese goods stimulate the search for loopholes in the trade system. As reported by The Washington Post, citing a White House report, Chinese manufacturers do not send their products directly to the US, but rather to countries with softer conditions—specifically Vietnam, Mexico, or Indonesia. There, goods undergo minimal processing or are simply repackaged, after which they receive new certificates of origin and are sent to the United States as 'Vietnamese' or 'Mexican' products. This allows them to pass through the 'tariff wall' with minimal costs.

Budget Losses and Countermeasures

White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro called Beijing's actions an 'extremely complex complex of measures' aimed at transshipping goods. According to him, China uses these schemes to systematically avoid tariffs, which damages the American economy. As a result of such manipulations, the US loses 'tens of billions of dollars' in potential revenue. In response, the Trump administration has begun active work on implementing an artificial intelligence-based system that will automatically check cargo and identify suspicious logistics chains.

Contradictory Data

While the White House insists on the scale of the problem, experts note the difficulties in accurately distinguishing between legal and illegal activities. The report admits that it is extremely difficult to distinguish legal transshipment of goods (when cargo is genuinely moved from one ship to another within normal logistics) from actions aimed at tariff evasion. Critics also point out that the $75 billion figure may include goods that were indeed processed in third countries and have a legal right to reduced duties, although the Trump administration classifies them as part of an evasion scheme.

New Restrictions and Trade Threats

Against the backdrop of the fight against tariff evasion, the administration continues to tighten trade policy. A week earlier, President Trump signed an order introducing new restrictions on the import of polysilicon and related products, seeking to reduce US dependence on China in critical supply chains. Furthermore, at the end of July 2026, new trade frictions were recorded: Trump resumed pressure on Brazil and issued threats against Canada and the European Union, indicating the global nature of the trade war unleashed by Washington.