Trump orders probe of China’s intellectual property practices
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump authorized an inquiry into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property in the first direct trade measure by his administration against Beijing, but one that is unlikely to prompt near-term change.
Trump broke from his 17-day vacation in New Jersey to sign the memo in the White House at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
The investigation is likely to cast a shadow over relations with China, the largest US trading partner, just as Trump is asking Beijing to step up pressure against Pyongyang.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will have a year to look into whether to launch a formal investigation of China’s trade policies on intellectual property, which the White House and US industry lobby groups say are harming US businesses and jobs.
Trump called the inquiry “a very big move.”
Trump administration officials have estimated that theft of intellectual property by China could be as high as US$600 billion.
Experts on China trade policy said the long lead time could allow Beijing to discuss some of the issues raised by Washington without being seen to cave to pressure under the threat of reprisals.
Although Trump repeatedly criticized China’s trade practices on the campaign trail, his administration has not taken any significant action. Despite threats to do so, it has declined to name China a currency manipulator and delayed broader national security probes into imports of foreign steel and aluminium that could indirectly affect China.
China repeatedly rebuffed attempts by previous US administrations to take action on its IP practices.
“I’m sure they will formally reject this if an investigation is launched and there is an implication this is going to require negotiation to resolve it,” said Matthew Goodman, a senior adviser for Asian economics at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Jonathan Fenby, an analyst at the TS Lombard consultancy, said China was not interested in a shortterm trade fix with the United States and will resist “attempts to tie it down.”
China’s policy of forcing foreign companies to turn over technology to Chinese joint venture partners and failure to crack down on intellectual property theft have been longstanding problems for several US administrations.
The Information Technology Industry Council, the main trade group for US technology giants, such as Microsoft, Apple and Google, said it hoped China would take the administration’s announcement seriously.