Big ·Tariffs and tradeChina starts bes targeting US semiconductor sectorBy BloombergBy Bloomberg A Texas DAC8718S integrated circuit microchip, manufactured by Texas Instruments.Chris Ratcliffe—Bloomberg via Getty ImagesChina launched two investigations targeting the US semiconductor sector ahead of planned talks between the two nations on trade and other issues.
The Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday that it’s opened an anti-dumping be relating to certain American-made analog IC chips, the of ducts sold by Texas Instruments Inc.
and Analog Devices Inc. At the same time, the ministry also kicked off an anti-discrimination investigation into US moves against the Chinese chip sector, according to a separate statement.
The bes comes shortly after the US added 23 more China-based companies to its entity list, which imposes restrictions on es deemed to be “acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the US.” China’s public rebuke of US trade measures sets up a tense opening for a multi-day meeting between top officials on both sides.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Madrid to discuss trade, economic and national security issues.
The talks come after months of back and forth on trade negotiations and a pause on the Trump administration’s elevated tariffs on China while the two sides seek to work out a mutually agreeable deal.
Read more: Trump Extends China Truce for 90 Days, Averting Tariff Hike Semiconductors have grown into a key ground of contestation, as the US has cut off China’s access to the most advanced artificial intelligence accelerators and used the licensing of some less-powerful Nvidia Corp.
hardware as a bargaining chip — though Chinese officials have pushed backand expressed reservations security risks.
The unsettled state of negotiations has also found expression in China recently making its first use of a so-called anti-circumvention investigation that led to anti-dumping duties on US optical fiber imports.
That tool is expected to play a greater role in the future, according to state TV.
Read more: China Slams US for Imposing New Sanctions Ahead of Spain Talks “The US has taken a series of hibitions and restrictions against China in the field of integrated circuits over recent years, including 301 investigations and export control measures,” a commerce ministry spokesperson said in another statement.
“Those tectionist practices are suspected of discrimination against China and are a containment and suppression of China’s development of advanced computing chips and high- industries such as artificial intelligence.” Officials at the US Trade Representative and spokespeople for Texas Instruments and Analog Devices did not immediately respond to requests for .
Bessent and He’s discussions will cover, among other matters, the of ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok, a service that President Donald Trump has estimated could be worth as much as $500 billion to the US.
TikTok has until next week to reach a deal to ensure it continues operations in the US, though such deadlines have already been ext several times this year.
Efforts to combat money laundering will also be on the agenda, according to the US Treasury Department.
Read More: China Begins be Into US Chip Grants, Alleged Dumping China said in January that it will investigate allegations the US dumps lower-end chips and unfairly subsidizes its own chipmakers, marking one of Beijing’s strongest retaliatory moves against American nology sanctions.
The anti-dumping be will run for a year and may be ext by another six months, if needed, while the anti-bias be usually takes three months, according to the trade regulator.
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