US-China Trade Developments

Trade tensions between the United States and China reached their boiling point on August 18, 2017, when the US Trade Representative (USTR) initiated an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into whether China’s acts, policies and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation are “unreasonable or discriminatory” or “burden or restrict US commerce.” Since USTR’s affirmative finding, tensions between the two countries have continued to escalate, with each side using tariffs and other policy instruments in their trade fight.

Here we provide our analyses of the events leading up to this point and anticipate what might happen next.