The White House has named India among a host of countries, including some of the US's big trading partners like the European Union, Japan and South Korea, as part of "China’s shadow transhipment network" through which Beijing’s "tariff evasion" moves.
In a 25-page report titled "The Great Transhipment Scam: Rise, Scope and Costs", the office of trade and manufacturing policy at the White House said: "Following the imposition of Section 301 tariffs (trade penalties) in 2018,… Chinese exporters increasingly routed goods through third countries. Products that previously moved directly from China to the United States were shipped through jurisdictions where limited assembly, finishing, repackaging, relabeling, or documentation changes could create the appearance of a different national origin. Over time, these practices contributed to the development of a global network of production hubs, logistics platforms, free trade zones, bonded warehouses, processing corridors, and re-export centres
This report identifies more than 40 countries associated with elevated illegal transhipment risk. These jurisdictions vary significantly in economic scale and function. Some are major trading partners with diversified industrial bases and large volumes of overall commerce."
India falls in the category grouped as Tier 1
Tier 1 consists of the Diversified Scale Leaders: countries and trading blocs that account for large absolute volumes of China-linked goods while maintaining diversified industrial bases and major US-bound export platforms. In these jurisdictions, illegal transhipment risk is embedded within broad legitimate trade flows. Tier 1 includes Canada, the European Union, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan," the report said.
Asked about the report at the external affairs ministry’s bi-weekly media conference on Friday, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: "We have seen some reports. We would like to study the findings and the methodology that has been adopted in detail. We have robust laws and procedures governing customs, rules of origin, export of products, and any instances of violation that may be there are dealt with in accordance with law
.jpg)
.jpeg)
Leave Comments