China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has escalated the global semiconductor rivalry by initiating an anti-dumping investigation into imports of certain analog integrated circuit (IC) chips originating from the United States. This action, announced in September and followed by the distribution of detailed questionnaires this week, is widely viewed as a retaliatory measure against increasingly tight US export controls on advanced technology. Companies that could be affected include major US suppliers of analog chips like Texas Instruments Inc. and Analog Devices Inc..
The investigation demands highly sensitive commercial data, including a breakdown of sales activities, costs, profits for the chips in both the US and China, and the explicit names of Chinese customers and raw material suppliers. The probe stems from claims that US manufacturers are “dumping”—selling chips at unfairly low prices—which purportedly harms China’s domestic semiconductor industry. US companies have been given a short window of 37 days to submit their responses.Analysts warn that if MOFCOM finds evidence of dumping, the resulting anti-dumping tariffs could significantly raise costs for Chinese electronics companies that rely on US analog chips, further disrupting global supply chains and benefiting non-US rivals. The ongoing investigation highlights how the semiconductor market remains at the center of the geopolitical contest between Washington and Beijing.
