Report cites Mexico, Malaysia as transshipment points for Chinese goods
A Trump White House report released Thursday estimates that third-country routing of exports to avoid U.S. tariffs costs the federal government $19 billion to $26 billion in tax revenue each year. The analysis focuses on how China responded to tariffs imposed in 2018 by shipping its goods to other nations from Mexico to Malaysia for packaging and limited assembly — a practice known as transshipping.
The transshipping strategy made it appear as though U.S. imports from China had dropped, according to the report, while enabling Beijing to keep expanding its manufacturing sector in ways the report says could challenge U.S. factories and employment.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told reporters on a conference call that China is “laundering” its exports through more than 40 countries. He added that the issues the report identifies are “really more about other nations enabling the avoidance of tariffs.”