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US alleges global 'shadow transhipment network' conspiracy to evade tariffs

The White House is claiming more than 40 countries, including Singapore and Vietnam, have been complicit in transhipping Chinese-manufactured goods to evade tariffs. In a report, The Great Transhipment Scam, released on 11 August, the White House said: "The US faces a growing challenge from the illegal transhipment of goods through third countries to evade applicable tariffs and other trade remedies. "Exporters in higher-tariff jurisdictions can abuse differences in US tariff treatment across countries to route goods through lower-tariff jurisdictions before entering the American market. "Illegal transhipment may involve relabelling, repackaging, re-invoicing, minor processing, false country-of-origin claims, or other actions intended to secure tariff treatment that would not apply if the goods' true economic origin were declared." The administration claims that since 2018, between $40bn and $303bn in tariffs has been evaded as made-in-China goods were routed through a "shadow transhipment network" of countries like Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, India, those in the EU, and its neighbours, Canada and Mexico. The White House said that since Section 301 tariffs in 2018, the US trade deficit with China fell in 2019 and 2020. It said: "After their [tariffs] imposition, Chinese exporters increasingly routed goods through third countries. "Products that previously moved directly from China to the US were shipped through jurisdictions where limited assembly, finishing, repackaging, relabelling, 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." Singapore is the world's largest container transhipment port, while Busan, Shanghai, and Port Klang also have substantial transhipped volumes. White House trade advisor Peter Navarro told media the White House was working with US Customs and Border Protection to develop an AI-enabled "detective border" to help assess whether a shipment involved transhipped goods. Meanwhile China, the EC and Singapore have refuted the US allegations. China's embassy in Washington responded that the country was against unilateral tariffs and "suppressing Chinese businesses in the name of national security". EC spokesperson Arianna Podesta was quoted by AFP: "We have been very clear and consistent on the fact that neither our rules framework nor our regulatory autonomy are up for negotiation." Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry said it took trade compliance "seriously", and pointed out that in June 2025, Singapore Customs sent a circular to all traders and declaring agents to stress the importance of accurate "country/region of origin" declarations.

Xeneta chief takes aim at ocean carriers over treatment of shippers

Ocean shipping lines are taking advantage of shippers by pushing through rate increases which run counter to prevailing market fundamentals, according to one leading maritime trade commentator. Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, took the Europe-US trade as an example - commonly perceived as a stable and predictable market, especially in these turbulent times for ocean shipping. As geopolitical events have triggered uncertainty and volatility on other major lanes, the transatlantic has navigated much calmer seas. However, the first half of the year has been marked by a sharp rises in rates, in contrast to far less movement in demand and capacity, Mr Sand underlined. "The North Europe-US East Coast is a specialised and sizeable trade, benefiting from a broad mix of industrial goods. And yet this pocket of stability has also experienced turbulence in freight rates since 1 April, he told The Loadstar. Data from Xeneta shows spot rates on the North Europe to US East Coast trade rose 86% between the end of February when the Gulf crisis began and last week, a hefty increase, albeit significantly smaller than those recorded on other major trades such as Far East-US and Far East-Europe. Long term rates on the North Europe to US East Coast over the same period rose 53% to $2,123 per 40ft. "For transatlantic spot rates, it seems to have been a case of carriers successfully spooking shippers back in January that capacity was tight and space not readily available. This may have been true for a few weeks, but certainly not since then." Xeneta's data on carriers' deployed capacity on the transatlantic in the first half of the year reveals a 4.7% decrease year on year (YoY). "The deepest cut came in January (-10.7%), before more capacity was added in March (+4.1%). During the same period, demand between the EU and US was flat, YoY (-0.7%). He went to stress that the "global ripple effects" from tariffs to fuel, had been keenly felt by shippers, including those active on the transatlantic trade. Turning to the outlook for the transatlantic in the coming months, Mr Sand noted that Xeneta's expectations for the trade, in terms of demand and supply, was for more of the same: both declining on a YoY basis. "As for short-term and long-term rates, they should soon start to drop and continue falling as we approach year-end."

Asia Pacific to Europe airfreight rates rise despite volume pressure

Airfreight rates from the Asia Pacific region to Europe were on the rise last week despite volumes coming under pressure due to the new European Union charge for e-commerce shipments. Figures from data provider WorldACD show that spot rates from Asia Pacific to Europe increased by 1% week on week during the week ending 9 August (week 32), led by a 6% increase from China and a 3% increase from Hong Kong - two e-commerce powerhouses. This increase from China and Hong Kong compensated for declines from elsewhere in the region, led by South Korea (-6%), Singapore (-5%), Taiwan (-4%) and Japan (-4%). The increase China/Hong Kong to Europe spot rates came despite volumes being affected by Typhoon Dolphin, which caused evacuations in Shanghai as well as Beijing and over 1,000 flight cancellations in Shanghai alone. Demand was also impacted by "the lingering repercussions of the end of the 'de minimis' exemption for e-commerce entering the European Union (EU)", WorldACD said. At the start of July, the EU introduced a €3 charge for packages valued at under €150 that previously were not required to pay any duties. As a result, e-commerce volumes from China to Europe decreased by 8% year on year and by 29% from Hong Kong to Europe in week 32. WorldACD reasoned that with demand coming under pressure, the increase in spot rates from China and Hong Kong to Europe is linked to capacity adjustments. "The rise of Europe-bound pricing out of Hong Kong and China despite the end of the European de minimis exemption and the decline of transpacific rates out of Asia Pacific suggest that freighter capacity previously deployed for e-commerce transport to Europe has shifted elsewhere, with the transpacific sector the obvious target." Elsewhere out of Asia, demand to Europe declined by 4% week on week, with chargeable weight from Indonesia falling 18%, followed by a drop from Taiwan of 14% and a 12% drop off from Malaysia. On the other hand, there was a 3% increase between Japan and Europe.