"Has any concrete fact been provided? I don't think any concrete fact has been provided. We demand facts," Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze responded to a journalist's question regarding a U.S. White House report that mentions Georgia as a potential route for evading American tariffs on Chinese goods.
According to Kobakhidze, he is unaware of any specific facts concerning Georgia in the report. The Prime Minister stated that various parties, including the White House, might be provided with factually unfounded or incorrect information.
"Various sides have written things without factual basis very often.
Therefore, do not jump to conclusions. Something might be written based on facts, or it might not be based on facts. Someone could deliberately provide incorrect information even to the White House. Every time such information is circulated, we ask for facts, and then they are unable to provide us with facts—this is the standard reality.
Let them provide us with a fact. We are doing everything to ensure that no such scheme exists in the country. Let them provide us with a fact regarding any issue. If there is a fact, we will react accordingly," Irakli Kobakhidze stated.
In August, the White House published a report titled "The Great Transshipment Scam," which addresses schemes for shipping goods from China to the U.S. and potential practices for bypassing American tariffs.
According to the report, Chinese goods may initially be sent to third countries, where information regarding their origin is altered, after which the products enter the U.S. market at relatively lower tariff rates. Georgia is mentioned in the document alongside other countries in this specific context.
The report divides countries into several categories:
Georgia's Group: Georgia is categorized alongside Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Switzerland, and other nations.
Larger-Scale Economies & Trade Blocs: The document separately highlights larger-scale entities used by China for these purposes, including the European Union, Canada, Israel, India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Additional Major Destinations: Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam are also cited in a major category.
The Prime Minister of Georgia assessed that the country's inclusion in the report does not, in itself, constitute proof of a specific violation. Kobakhidze affirmed that the government remains ready to react should relevant evidence be presented.
