A White House report highlights a widespread scheme by over 40 nations, notably India, to reroute Chinese exports through third countries in a bid to bypass US tariffs, escalating tensions in trade negotiations with New Delhi.
A White House trade report has accused more than 40 countries of helping Chinese exporters sidestep US tariffs by routing products through third countries, relabelling them or misrepresenting their origin, in what the administration called a “Great Transhipment Scam”. India was placed in the top tier of countries the report said face the greatest transhipment risk because of their large industrial bases, alongside Canada, the European Union, Israel, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Taiwan.
Peter Navarro, a senior trade adviser, singled out India in remarks to reporters, saying the administration’s message was that cheaper access to the American market should not be gained through deceit. He argued that countries facing higher tariffs would try to use transhipment routes unless they were pushed to stop dumping, respect intellectual property and reduce barriers to US goods.
The report said the risk was not limited to one region or one type of product. It cited examples including Chinese electric motors being incorporated into recliners in Vietnam and so-called “screwdriver factories” carrying out only minimal assembly, which officials say does not amount to a genuine change in origin. Under US trade rules, products must undergo “substantial transformation” before they can be treated as originating in another country.
The crackdown comes as Washington and New Delhi continue difficult trade negotiations, already complicated by US pressure over India’s purchases of Russian oil. It also follows a series of tariff moves from the Trump administration, including the suspension of duty-free treatment for low-value commercial shipments in July and a separate 25% tariff on imports from India announced in August 2025.
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