Thailand placed in Tier 2 of US transshipment report

Thailand has been placed in Tier 2 of a new White House report examining what the US administration describes as a global network used to reroute Chinese goods through third countries and evade higher American tariffs.

The report, titled “The Great Transshipment Scam”, identifies more than 40 economies that Washington says play different roles in China-linked supply and transshipment networks.

It divides them into three tiers according to the scale and characteristics of trade flows and their links to Chinese supply chains.

The report was released by the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy on Thursday (August 13, 2026).

Thailand is grouped in Tier 2 with Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Türkiye and Vietnam.

The White House describes this group as handling significant transshipment volumes while also being more deeply integrated into China-linked manufacturing, sourcing, logistics and regional routing networks.

The classification represents the US administration’s assessment of transshipment exposure and supply-chain links.

It is not, by itself, a finding that every product exported from Thailand or another listed economy has breached US country-of-origin rules.

Washington has separately tightened enforcement against goods found by US Customs and Border Protection to have been transshipped to evade tariffs.

Such goods can face an additional 40% duty as well as other applicable penalties.

Thailand has already stepped up scrutiny of false country-of-origin declarations, with Customs targeting suspicious exporters and businesses that import and re-export goods without meaningful production in Thailand.

White House alleges goods are rerouted through third countries

The report alleges that Chinese exporters use a decentralised network of manufacturing bases, logistics platforms, processing operations, free-trade zones and re-export hubs to move goods through countries subject to lower US tariffs.

Under such arrangements, goods may be shipped through an intermediary country, undergo limited processing or repackaging, and then be exported to the United States under a different declared origin.

The White House argues that simply moving Chinese goods through another economy or carrying out limited processing does not automatically change their country of origin.

Applicable origin requirements must still be met before products can legitimately be treated as originating in the intermediary country.

US trade adviser Peter Navarro described the alleged practice as having developed from smaller-scale tariff evasion into a much broader system since Washington first imposed Section 301 tariffs on China in 2018.

The White House estimates that more than 40 countries are involved in the networks it is examining.

Thailand grouped with five other Tier 2 economies

Tier 2 comprises:

• Brazil
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Thailand
• Türkiye
• Vietnam

The report associates Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia with manufacturing networks closely linked to China, including industries producing electronics, machinery, plastics, footwear, garments, components and other manufactured goods using Chinese inputs.

Brazil and Türkiye are characterised as large regional manufacturing and logistics bases where goods can potentially be rerouted or undergo processing before onward export.

For Thailand, the classification comes amid wider US scrutiny of whether products originating elsewhere, particularly in China, are receiving insufficient processing before being exported under Thai origin declarations.

Thai authorities have previously responded to such concerns by tightening customs inspections and rules governing investment projects, including checks aimed at preventing Thailand from being used as a pass-through location for goods falsely presented as Thai-made.

Tier 1 includes major US trading partners

Tier 1 covers economies with large volumes of China-linked goods but broader industrial and trading bases and, according to the report, generally more developed customs and origin-verification systems.

The group comprises:

• Canada
• European Union
• India
• Israel
• Japan
• Mexico
• South Korea
• Taiwan

The report notes that these economies have complex supply chains and substantial legitimate trade with the United States, meaning potential tariff-evasion shipments may be mixed into much larger flows of ordinary commerce.

It also distinguishes legitimate manufacturing from simple relabelling.

Importing Chinese goods and attaching a “Made in Japan” or “Made in Korea” label, for example, would not in itself establish a new country of origin without sufficient production or processing to satisfy applicable rules.

Smaller economies placed in Tier 3

Tier 3 covers smaller economies where the overall volume identified by the report is lower, but where certain characteristics may make them attractive for rerouting goods.

These can include lower labour costs, free zones, access to ports and borders, bonded warehouses, specialised assembly capacity, preferential access to the US market or more limited customs-enforcement capacity.

Economies highlighted in this group include Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, where the report points to links with regional manufacturing and overland trade routes.

Panama and Costa Rica are cited for their maritime and free-zone logistics networks, while Azerbaijan and Georgia offer rail, inland transport and port connections that can link overland routes with maritime trade.

Jordan is highlighted for preferential trade access and specialised assembly capabilities.

The White House report comes as Washington increases customs enforcement against origin fraud and illegal transshipment.

A June executive order directed US authorities to intensify investigations, audits and penalties involving misclassification, undervaluation and illegal transshipment.