China has filed a dispute with the World Trade Organisation in an attempt to force the US to unwind its trade sanctions, claiming it is unfairly crushing China’s $845 billion semiconductor industry with vague security-based concerns.
The US Commerce Department said in October its aim with the trade sanctions was to stop “sensitive technologies with military applications” from being acquired by China’s military, intelligence and security services.
China’s Ministry of Commerce accused the United States of violating international trade rules by “obstructing normal international trade in products including chips and threatening the stability of the global industrial supply chain”, calling the sanctions “protectionist practices”, that deny China’s “legitimate rights and interests”.
The complaint, filed with the WTO on Monday, called for the US to “give up zero-sum thinking”.
As Bloomberg points out, the WTO has a lengthy dispute resolution process, meaning it could be years before this claim works its way through the system – not to mention the appeals process, should China win the case.
Biden is claiming security reasons, but it cannot hurt the success of the recently-passed CHIPS Act of 2022, which sees the country pour A$75 billion into semiconductor manufacturing in America.
