Trump Touts White House Report on “Great Transshipment Scam” Draining Tariffs

Trump highlights a White House study accusing exporters of routing goods through more than 40 lower-tariff countries to evade U.S. duties, costing tens of billions of dollars a year.

First Published: August 13, 2026, 8:30 PM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump promoted a White House report that accuses foreign exporters of rerouting goods through more than 40 lower-tariff countries to dodge U.S. duties, costing the economy tens of billions of dollars a year.

The study, titled “The Great Transshipment Scam,” describes relabeling, repackaging, re-invoicing and false country-of-origin claims that secure tariff treatment the goods’ true origin would not, according to justthenews. Trump mentioned the source (see justthenews).

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “White House report details “Great Transshipment Scam” costing tens of billions in tariff evasion: https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/white-house-report-details-great-transshipment-scam-costing-tens-billions” on August 14, 2026 at 12:18 AM ET.

This is Trump’s 1st message released today, and the last post was 4 hours ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 11 of his 503 posts over the last 30 days classified as Tariffs posts.

Peter Navarro, Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, wrote the report released Thursday. “Every dollar lost to this Great Transshipment Scam is a dollar stolen from American workers, manufacturers, and taxpayers,” the report states, according to justthenews. Exporters in higher-tariff countries, primarily China, route goods through lower-tariff jurisdictions to evade U.S. duties, the report says. “Transshipment is driven by tariff arbitrage: When a product from one country faces a higher U.S. tariff than it would from another country, the difference becomes a profit opportunity, and even a business model in its own right,” Navarro wrote, according to justthenews.

The scale of the losses varies by method. Five estimates of annual potential illegal transshipment range from roughly $40 billion to $303 billion, according to justthenews. The White House Council of Economic Advisers places the figure between $34.2 billion and $89.6 billion, with a midpoint of $60 billion, while private-sector analysis offers a central estimate of about $75 billion, according to justthenews.

The report ties the practice to American workers and manufacturers. Under a central case of $75 billion in annual illegal transshipment, it estimates about 450,000 jobs displaced and $19 billion to $26 billion in associated federal revenue losses, according to justthenews. It also projects $113 billion to $150 billion in reduced annual gross domestic product. Effects concentrate in manufacturing sectors including electrical equipment, integrated circuits, plastics and motor components, according to justthenews.

Navarro said the practice intensified after Section 301 tariffs on China took effect in 2018, according to justthenews. Direct U.S. imports from China declined in subsequent years, while the combined share of imports from identified transshipment-risk countries rose, according to justthenews. The report notes that not all of the shift reflects illegal activity, and that some stems from legitimate production and investment changes.

The next step falls to the Trump administration, which has folded anti-transshipment measures into its Agreements on Reciprocal Trade, according to justthenews. A date for further enforcement action has not been announced.