Trump Administration Plans AI System to Detect Tariff Evasion Through Transshipments

The complexity of global supply chains makes it difficult for U.S. authorities to track the origin and movement of goods.

The Trump administration plans to deploy artificial intelligence to help U.S. authorities identify tariff evasion and suspicious transshipments.

The Trump administration plans to increase monitoring and enforcement through an artificial-intelligence system it calls "Detective Border," which will analyze global trade data to identify potential tariff evasion, Reshma Kapadia, George Glover and Liz Moyer reported for Barron's Daily.

The system is intended to help authorities identify transshipments, in which goods are routed through third countries before entering the United States, potentially allowing importers to avoid or reduce applicable tariffs.

Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro said the transshipment crackdown was not specifically aimed at China.

"It isn't about going after China because China is going to be China," Navarro said, according to the report. He said the focus was on countries that serve as transit points or "enablers" for Chinese goods.

The administration is seeking to strengthen enforcement against tariff avoidance as it develops a broader system of global tariffs.

Henrietta Treyz, head of economic policy research at Veda Partners, said the administration's proposed crackdown could provide an alternative to a stand-alone Section 301 investigation focused on transshipments.