WTO case against China’s tech transfers is expanded by EU

On Thursday, the European bloc had it challenge against China expanded at the WTO over laws it ascertains favor the transfer of technology in such areas as crop seeds and electric vehicles.

The European Commission, overseeing trade policy in the European bloc, told that it was considerably broadening the scope of its WTO clampdown on China.

America, Japan, and the EU have held a bunch of negotiations this year for the purpose of coordinating a war against unfair competition from subsidies, forced technology transfer, state-led enterprises, without directly naming, although hinting at China.

Just like the European bloc, America has complained to the WTO about China’s policies on intellectual property rights and technology transfer, but also slapped levies on $50 billion of China’s imports to speed up changes.

An EU official told that Brussels had notified its partners of its action, although the challenge didn’t appear to be a joint one.

Eventually, the EU's fresh complaint has to do with Chinese laws regulating the approval of investments for electric cars as well as biotechnology, in addition to the approval of joint ventures within sectors.

As the Commission told, the Chinese laws put requirements on foreign businesses working in this Asian country, contradicting to a commitment not to do so, as a WTO member.

As the Commission explained, the performance requirements make EU companies to transfer technology to China-EU ventures in exchange for the required administrative approvals by the Chinese cabinet.

In return, China repelled that those transfers turn out to be voluntary, and a lot of foreign companies have derived benefits from the work on fresh technologies by R&D centers in the world’s number two economy.

The fresh challenge actually complements a currently existing complaint sent to the WTO in June. It targets some provisions under China’s regulations on import as well as exports of technology having to do with Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures.

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