Goyal said that India’s “country of origin” certificates should carry weight.
“No transhipment should happen in India. We should not become a conduit for anything unethical. We should be trusted partners of the world. We don’t want to become like Vietnam, which brings goods from one country and exports to another country after marginal value addition,” Goyal said.
The statement comes on the heels of the US accusing over 40 countries, including India, of acting as a “shadow transhipment network” designed to hide the true economic origin of goods produced in China.
The White House, as per the report, on August 14 categorised the “shadow network” into three tiers, with countries such as India, Mexico, Canada, and the European Union forming tier 1 where illegal transhipment risk is “embedded” within massive legitimate trade flows. While “closely integrated” countries with China such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand were categorised as tier 2, smaller economies such as Cambodia, Panama, and the UAE with “weak customs enforcement” were classified as tier 3.
The report claimed that tariff revenue is the most obvious loss from illegal transhipment and that when China-linked goods enter the US through third countries, they widen the effective trade deficit, displace domestic production, reduce GDP growth, and lower associated federal tax receipts.
The US has imposed an additional 10% tariff on several countries, including India, from July 24.
Goyal will visit the US in late September to attend the G-20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee and hold bilateral talks with USTR Jamieson Greer.
Calling for stronger curbs and Congressional action, the report said that current standards for determining country of origin are complex and cumbersome, and the rules are made from components manufactured in multiple countries.
“While imports may conform to these standards and meet the legal letter of the law, they fail to meet the spirit of the law. Congressional action to amend and codify these standards, along with the Detective Border, will combat illegal transhipment and strengthen the President’s trade fairness agenda, supporting reciprocal treatments and protecting US jobs and industries from unfair competition,” the report said.
Goyal also said that the details of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US will be announced once Washington offers preferential terms compared to the country’s competitors.
He also said that India’s nine free trade agreements (FTAs), spanning economies representing about $60 trillion of GDP, would provide preferential access to nearly two-thirds of global trade.
He said the other FTAs that India would conclude over the next few months and couple of years, including those with Canada, Mexico, Chile, Mercosur, SACU (South Africa Customs Union), GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and Israel, together with efforts to review ASEAN, Korea and Japan trade deals would give India access to 75% of global trade at a rate lower than its competitors.
India has implemented trade pacts with the UK, Mauritius, Oman, UAE, and Australia.
“(Trade pact with) New Zealand will go live soon and thereafter (FTA with) EU, the 27-nation bloc, will go live. And as soon as the US can give us the preferential rate,
in comparison to our competition, we will finalise the BTA and announce the final details,” he said at a workshop on free trade agreements, organised by the commerce ministry.
In February, India and the US announced finalisation of the framework for the first phase of the pact, but changes in the tariff landscape in the US have led to further negotiations between the two countries on the pact.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal says India must avoid becoming a conduit for unethical trade and transhipments, while seeking preferential terms from the US. 
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