Latin American nations respond to U.S. transshipment report

A White House report titled ‘The Great Transshipment Scam’ has identified Latin American corridors used to reroute Chinese goods to third markets, placing Chile in a third-level risk category. The Chilean Foreign Ministry has contested these findings, noting that Santiago was not consulted during the analysis and does not share the report's conclusions.

The report raises technical questions regarding the ability of customs authorities and companies to demonstrate product traceability and comply with rules of origin in free trade agreements. While the presence of Chinese components in a supply chain is a risk signal, it does not inherently constitute fraud under existing trade rules.

In Mexico, the Secretariat of Economy has responded to similar U.S. accusations, stating that transshipment accounts for only 1 percent of Mexican exports. Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard clarified that many goods moving through Mexico are merely in transit rather than being transshipped, noting that the U.S. imports significantly more from China directly than Mexico does.