US Accuses More Than 40 Countries of Helping China Evade Tariffs
The United States has fingered over 40 countries, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as alleged accomplices in helping China engage in tariff evasion schemes designed to maintain the country’s US-bound exports, according to a Trump Administration white paper. Titled the Great Transshipment Scam, the White House document assails China for engaging in mercantilist practices that run counter to World Trade Organization principles.
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Key Facts
- Fact 1: The United States has fingered over 40 countries, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as alleged accomplices in helping China engage in tariff evasion schemes designed to maintain the country’s US-bound exports, according to a Trump Administration white paper.
- Fact 2: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are designated as “Tier III” states, which are defined as “smaller economies with lower absolute transshipment volumes but specific weak-link advantages – including low-cost labor, free zones, port or border access, bonded warehousing, niche assembly capacity … or limited customs enforcement.” The naming and shaming of Baku, Tbilisi, Astana and Tashkent can potentially complicate diplomatic relations at a time when US ties with all but Georgia have dramatically improved since Trump returned to the presidency in early 2025.
- Fact 3: It does not provide specifics about Kazakhstan’s and Uzbekistan’s role in what it describes as “China’s Shadow Transshipment Network.” Estimates on the amount that Chinese-led tariff evasion is costing the US Treasury range from “approximately $40 billion to $303 billion annually, depending on the methodology and definition used.” The harm, however, extends far beyond the loss of tariff earnings, the white paper contends.
- Fact 4: By Eurasianet More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Oil Prices Slide 2% as Markets Brace for Bessent’s ‘Economic D-Day’ Iraq Wants to Double Oil Output—and Needs OPEC to Get Out of the Way China’s Oil Imports Set to Rebound as Refiners Hunt for New Supply
The United States has fingered over 40 countries, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as alleged accomplices in helping China engage in tariff evasion schemes designed to maintain the country’s US-bound exports, according to a Trump Administration white paper. Titled the Great Transshipment Scam, the White House document assails China for engaging in mercantilist practices that run counter to World Trade Organization principles.
It identifies countries that are aiding China’s efforts to evade US trade restrictions, how the Chinese-led networks operate, and outlines countermeasures being taken by the Trump administration. The report divides countries that are playing a role in tariff evasion into three categories. Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are designated as “Tier III” states, which are defined as “smaller economies with lower absolute transshipment volumes but specific weak-link advantages – including low-cost labor, free zones, port or border access, bonded warehousing, niche assembly capacity … or limited customs enforcement.” The naming and shaming of Baku, Tbilisi, Astana and Tashkent can potentially complicate diplomatic relations at a time when US ties with all but Georgia have dramatically improved since Trump returned to the presidency in early 2025.
(Original synthesis pending human/AI review — generated by the stub provider by selecting real sentences from the source material, not by writing new analysis or commentary.)
Original source: OilPrice.com
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