US launches investigation into China's compliance with 2020 trade deal

25/10/2025 6:27

The U.S. Trade Representative's office on Friday said it had launched a new tariff investigation into China's "apparent failure" to comply with the "Phase One" trade deal signed with President Donald Trump in 2020 to end his first-term U.S.-China trade war.



The new unfair trade practices probe under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 gives Trump another potential tool to increase tariffs on Chinese imports. USTR's announcement comes a day before the start of a new round of U.S.-China talks over rare earths export controls in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.



China said it firmly opposed what it said were Washington's "false accusations and related investigation measures," and accused the United States of escalating economic and other forms of pressure against China.