United States of America: Office of the United States Trade Representative approved tariffs as responsive action in Section 301 investigation into China's targeting of foundational semiconductors over alleged anticompetitive practices

On 23 December 2025, the Office of the US Trade Representative ("Representative") approved tariffs as a responsive action in a Section 301 investigation into China's targeting of foundational semiconductors over alleged anticompetitive practices. The tariff is to begin at 0 percent and increase on 23 June 2027 to a rate to be announced no later than 30 days prior to that date. The investigation cites determined that China's targeting of the semiconductor industry for dominance was unreasonable, citing a range of practices. First, the Representative alleges that China's governmental influence over the semiconductor industry is unreasonable due to a direction of non-market advantages. These include government subsidies market access restriction, and public-private investment partnerships. They also include allegedly forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft, opaque or discriminatory regulatory preferences, and wage-suppressing labour practices. Second, the Representative alleges that China's state-driven semiconductor strategy unfairly undermines market competition by displacing foreign firms and seeking dominance through non-market means. Third, it alleges China's state-backed pursuit of semiconductor dominance creates strategic dependencies that are weaponisable for potential economic coercion, thereby harming foreign competitors and global supply chain security. The Representative concluded that China's actions restrict or burden U.S. commerce by undercutting business opportunities for the US semiconductor industry and by creating economic security risks by creating dependencies in sectors of critical economic significance.