US Accuses Over 40 Nations of Helping China Evade Tariffs

The United States says China has been playing a trick to avoid paying extra money on things it sells to America.

When China sends products to the US, America charges extra fees called tariffs.

The US says China avoids these fees by first sending its products to other countries.

Those countries change labels or boxes so the products look like they were made there, and then send them to America.

The US believes more than 40 countries, including big trade partners like India, Mexico and Canada, are part of this trick.

A US official named Peter Navarro wrote a report about it called 'The Great Transshipment Scam.'

The report says the hidden trade could be worth between 40 billion and 303 billion dollars every year.

To catch it, the US plans to use a computer system called 'Detective Border' that studies shipping records and cargo routes.

The report even gives an example: Chinese pumps sent through India's Pune-Gujarat-Chennai region arrive in America looking Indian-made.

This is meant to make sure American companies and workers are not hurt by goods secretly made in China.