US accuses allies of China tariff ‘scam’

The White House claims more than 40 countries have served as hubs for rerouting Chinese goods

Published 14 Aug, 2026 08:04

The White House has accused more than 40 nations, including some of its closest partners, of helpingChinese goods evade US tariffs by exploiting differences in levies imposed on third countries.

A new 25-page report titled ‘The Great Transshipment Scam’, released by the White House on Thursday, names Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, India, Israel, Taiwan, and the EU among those allegedly involved in the practice.

The document claims the “scam” involves sending Chinese-made goods through another country, where they are lightly processed, repackaged, or relabeled before being shipped to the US under a new declared origin.

Washington says the practicetook off after President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese products in 2018. Since returning to office, Trump has expanded levies to much of the world,creating wide differences in tariff rates between trading partners. Last month, he also imposed new tariffs on imports from 60 countries over alleged failures to combat forced labor, drawing protests from several major US partners. The White House acknowledged that such gaps may themselves have increase incentives for rerouting.

The report estimates that the practice costs the US Treasury tens of billions of dollars annually. Under one central model-based scenario, it puts lost federal revenue at $19 billion to $26 billion and claims around 450,000 American jobs could be displaced.

Washington said it now plans to step up enforcement using an AI-based customs system dubbed ‘Detective Border’, designed to flag suspicious shipping routes, origin claims, and ownership links. The report warns that violators could face additional tariffs, sanctions, or exclusion from the US market.

China has repeatedly condemned Trump’s tariff regime, accusing Washington of protectionism and economic coercion and arguing that its trade and technology restrictions disrupt global commerce.

Earlier this month, the Chinese Commerce Ministry announced tighter export controls on drones and related technologies and retaliatory measures against several American entities, warning of further countermeasures if Washington introduces new restrictions.

https://www.rt.com/news/644224-us-accuses-allies-china-scam/

Sundance pointed this out today also! All these countries are getting around tariffs!

New Trump tariffs set to hit Ukraine’s drone export ambitions

The levies come as Kiev touts plans to sell billions of dollars’ worth of UAVs to the US

Published 14 Aug, 2026 07:10

US President Donald Trump has imposed steep tariffs on imported drones and their components, potentially complicating Ukraine’s plans to expand UAV sales to Washington.

Under a proclamation signed on Thursday, drones weighing more than 25 kg and those equipped with thermal imagers will face tariffs of 100%, along with certain docking stations and critical components. Smaller unmanned aircraft will be subject to a 25% levy.

Lower rates will apply to selected US partners, including 15% tariffs for the EU, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, and Taiwan, and 10% for the UK. The measures are set to begin taking effect in 21 days, with some delayed for 180 days.

Trump said a Commerce Department review found that the US was “too reliant” on foreign drones and components. The White House said the measures are intended to reduce supply-chain and security risks while rapidly expanding domestic production.

The move, however, could complicate Kiev’s recently revived push to sell drones to the US.

Trump said last month that Washington would buy Ukrainian UAVs, while Reuters later reported that Kiev had agreed to export drones for the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program. During discussions last year, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky suggested a broader drone deal with the US could eventually be worth between $10 billion and $30 billion.

Ukraine was not listed among the countries receiving reduced tariff rates in Trump’s proclamation. Neither Washington nor Kiev has explained whether the planned purchases will receive an exemption or how the new duties could affect the proposed agreements.

Trump’s new tariffs come as the Pentagon has been racing to expand its own unmanned capabilities, with US officials acknowledging that Washington has struggled to keep pace with the rapidly evolving use of cheap reconnaissance and attack drones in the Ukraine conflict.

Kiev, meanwhile, has been aiming to turn its domestic weapons production into a major source of export revenue despite continuing to heavily rely on Western military and financial support.

Ukrainian officials have spoken of earning billions from weapons sales and opening export hubs across Europe. At the same time,the country’s defense sector has been hit by major corruption scandals, including investigations into alleged embezzlement and inflated procurement contracts.

European officials have also raised concerns over weapons supplied to Kiev disappearing and potentially reaching criminal networks.

https://www.rt.com/news/644223-trump-us-drone-tariffs/

None of their people get any of the money!

OpenAI talent exodus raises ‘huge red flag’ ahead of IPO 1/3

PUBLISHED FRI, AUG 14 2026

KEY POINTS

• The sudden departure of OpenAI revenue chief Denise Dresser this week came days after longtime exec Brad Lightcap said he was leaving.

• OpenAI’s C-suite instability is giving investors another reason for concern as the company makes moves toward a mammoth public listing.

• CFO Sarah Friar and President Greg Brockman are set to meet with OpenAI investors on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter.

When OpenAI hired Denise Dresser from Slack to be its chief revenue officer in December, Fidji Simo, a top-ranking executive, said in a blog post that Dresser’s “experience will help us make AI useful, reliable, and accessible for businesses everywhere.”

Four months later, Dresser took on added responsibilities when operating chief Brad Lightcap left that position for a new role focused on “special projects.”

Now, Dresser, Simo and Lightcap are all gone, leaving OpenAI’s C-suite in chaos as the artificial intelligence company tries to justify its $852 billion valuation and gear up for what’s expected to be a historic initial public offering. Dresser announced her sudden departure on Thursday, two days after Lightcap said he was ending an eight-year stint at the ChatGPT creator to “start something new.”

The talent exodus puts even more pressure on CEO Sam Altman and fellow co-founder Greg Brockman, the company’s president, to project stability at a time when investors are already growing concerned about competition from Google

and Anthropic, increased adoption of lower-cost open-weight models, and SpaceX’s

volatile stock price in its first two months on the market.

OpenAI confidentially filed its IPO prospectus in June, but hasn’t provided a timeline for a future offering.

“The executives leaving OpenAI ahead of their IPO is a huge red flag,” Kevin McCormick, founder of AI startup SignAudit.AI, wrote in a post on X on Thursday. He added that Dresser likely walked away from a large pay package by leaving OpenAI after less than one year.

“If the executives leaving aren’t being ‘made whole’ by the next company, it’s bad news for OpenAI,” McCormick wrote.

A representative for OpenAI pointed CNBC to Brockman’s statement from Thursday, after the company named Dali Rajic, former COO of cybersecurity company Wiz, which Google

acquired for $32 billion earlier this year, as its new chief revenue officer.

Brockman said that Dresser led the revenue group through a “formative period for the business,” and that Rajic “will turn what we’ve learned into repeatable execution as we build out the full system to make AI broadly useful for people and businesses.”

Dresser and Lightcap are the latest in a recent string of big-name exits. Simo, who last year left her job as CEO of Instacart

to join OpenAI, said in July that she was stepping away to focus on recovery after a “severe exacerbation of a chronic illness.” Four other executives, including Kevin Weil, the vice president of OpenAI for Science, and marketing chief Kate Rouch, departed in April. Rouch left to focus on cancer recovery.

OpenAI’s financial backers were surprised by Dresser’s announcement, according to two current investors, who asked not to be named in order to speak freely on the matter. They said that chaos is part of OpenAI’s fast-moving culture.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/14/open-ai-ipo-red-flag.html

>>24936506

2/3

Dresser was hired in December after establishing a strong reputation in the enterprise by spending more than a decade in senior roles at Salesforce

. She was tasked with growing OpenAI’s enterprise unit, a high-margin part of the business that’s directly taking on Anthropic.

Brockman told employees on Thursday that run rate revenue increased more than 20% month over month in July, including 32% growth for business customers, according to an internal Slack message shared with CNBC.

“We’re now at an inflection point: the next generation of models will change not just how individual workflows get done, but what it means to build and run a company,” Brockman wrote. “Our opportunity is to bring those capabilities to businesses across the economy.”

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar held a meeting with investors on Friday, according to a person who was in attendance. The event had been planned prior to this week’s executive shakeup, and Brockman joined Friar in updating shareholders.

Friar touted the company’s growth in enterprise, which she said now accounts for more revenue than the ChatGPT-led consumer business. Brockman thanked Dresser for her contributions and for building the enterprise foundation, and also brushed off concerns surrounding the competitive threat of open-source models from China, the person said.

OpenAI said on Thursday that under Dresser’s leadership, the enterprise business grew to 2 million customers, doubling from a year prior.

“I just have never seen this level of conviction spread so quickly and consistently within the industries,” Dresser told CNBC in April, as she was wrapping up her first 90 days on the job. She said at the time that enterprise made up 40% of the company’s revenue and was “on track to reach parity with consumer by the end of 2026.”

Days before that interview, Dresser had been tapped to take over many of Lightcap’s responsibilities, further raising her profile at the company.

Years of instability

Rajic, Dresser’s successor, was introduced to OpenAI through Thrive founder Josh Kushner, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who was not authorized to speak on the recruiting process. Thrive has been one of OpenAI’s most prominent backers.

OpenAI has long had a hire fast, fire fast culture, according to two former employees, who asked not to be named in order to speak freely on the matter. One of them described the environment as a pressure cooker.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/14/open-ai-ipo-red-flag.html

>>24936508

3/3

Instability at the top is nothing new for OpenAI, or for Altman.

In 2023, Altman was hastily removed from his role as CEO after the company’s board determined he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with them. Days later, with investors in a panic and employees threatening to leave en masse, Altman was restored at the helm.

Altman’s brief ouster, which some OpenAI employees refer to as “the blip,” has hung over him ever since.

The incident came up repeatedly during the high-profile Musk v. Altman trial in May. Lawyers representing Elon Musk, who sued OpenAI, Altman and Brockman in 2024 over a dispute about the company’s corporate structure, used Altman’s firing as a way to cast doubt on his character, accusing him of being untrustworthy.

“I was not trying to deceive the board,” Altman testified from the witness stand in federal court in Oakland, California.

Musk’s attorneys also pressed Altman about several OpenAI executives who raised concerns about his behavior. They included Anthropic

CEO Dario Amodei, who previously served as a research lead at OpenAI. Altman said Amodei had accused him of “many things.”

At the trial, Brockman was grilled about his own reputation as a leader. Musk’s attorneys asked him about a memo that was prepared by Ilya Sutskever, an OpenAI co-founder, highlighting issues with Brockman’s performance and management.

One lawyer asked Brockman to confirm that his management style had been heavily criticized by OpenAI employees. Brockman responded, “I certainly disagree with that characterization.”

After three weeks of testimony, an advisory jury said that Musk waited too long to bring his suit against OpenAI and its executives, though Musk vowed to appeal the ruling.

This week’s events haven’t helped Altman’s cause.

Following Lightcap’s departure, Altman thanked his longtime colleague in a post on X, and wrote that he was “excited to work together on what’s next.”

There was no such post after Dresser’s announcement. Rather, Altman’s only comment on X on Thursday had to do with a subject that he’s generally happier to discuss: his company’s AI models.

In response to a post from OpenAI’s account about a preview to “Ultrafast mode,” the new GPT-5.6 model “at up to 14x the speed,” Altman wrote, “/ultrafast.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/14/open-ai-ipo-red-flag.html