The White House report lists Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic among 40 economies flagged as risk points for transshipping Chinese goods to evade US tariffs; it says inclusion is not a formal fraud accusation.
Published Aug. 13, the 25-page report describes transshipment as moving Chinese goods through third countries to avoid tariffs; listed methods include relabelling, repackaging, re-invoicing and false declarations of origin. Its five estimates of losses range from Goldman Sachs’ $40 billion to Altana’s $303 billion, but the White House says they use different methods and are neither additive nor directly comparable. It adopts Exiger’s $75 billion estimate as its central case, calculating annual tariff-revenue losses of €16.545–22.64 billion, 450,000 jobs displaced and up to €150 billion less in GDP.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico had shown Washington there was no triangulation scheme and that many goods gain real added value before legal re-export. The Dominican Republic’s trade ministry said its inclusion reflected free zones and port infrastructure, not detected irregular activity, and that the report imposed no sanctions or restrictions. Brookings and most analysts cited did not expect a signed transshipment deal at the Sept. 24 summit; customs controls that began tightening in August were to continue regardless.
