White House announces AI-driven crackdown on illegal transshipment

The Trump administration has announced a major crackdown on illegal transshipment, a practice where goods are routed through intermediary countries to evade U.S. tariffs. A White House report released on August 13, 2026, identifies more than 40 countries as posing an elevated risk for these activities, including major trading partners such as Mexico, Canada, India, Japan, South Korea, and members of the European Union.

To combat what officials call a ‘shadow transshipment network,’ U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other authorities will deploy an AI-enabled ‘detective border’ approach. This strategy will use artificial intelligence to analyze shipment data, ownership relationships, routing histories, packaging patterns, and imaging data to distinguish legitimate supply chain shifts from unlawful evasion.

Estimates regarding the scale of the issue vary. The administration suggests potential tariff losses could reach tens of billions of dollars annually. Specifically, the AI supply chain firm Exiger provided a midrange estimate of $75 billion in illegally transshipped goods between February 2025 and February 2026, representing a loss in tariff revenue between $19 billion and $34 billion.