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BEIJING – China's antitrust regulator announced Wednesday a fine of around $ 25 million for the group's main joint venture in the country, the latest action against a US company in the context of the growing economic battle between China and neighboring countries. United States.
The fine imposed on Changan Ford, equally owned by the Detroit automaker and a state-backed Chinese firm, comes as Washington and Beijing attack each other after the collapse of trade talks last month.
First, the Trump administration has banned US tech companies from selling to Huawei, the Chinese manufacturer of smartphones and telecom equipment, barring it from access to software, microchips and other essential components. Then China said last week that it would create a blacklist of "unreliable" foreign companies and people harming the interests of Chinese companies, without giving details.
A giant American company is already feeling the pressure. Beijing has reportedly opened a FedEx investigation into what the company has called a mis-routing error for certain parcels destined for Huawei's addresses in Asia.
It is not clear whether the action against Ford is directly related to the biggest confrontation with the United States. China's anti-monopoly authority, the State Administration for Market Regulation, said condemning Changan Ford to set minimum prices for its dealers in Chongqing, the mainland metropolis where the company is based. This action deprived dealers of autonomy to set their own prices, said the government.
Chinese regulators have been acting against car manufacturers for similar reasons in the past. Beijing has taken energetic measures in recent years to define how companies in many sectors set prices for their products, hoping that this will encourage Chinese consumers to spend more with confidence.
But the Chinese government tends to apply some rules and regulations more forcefully in times of geopolitical tension, especially when foreign companies are involved, according to business groups in China.
Recently, the Chinese antitrust regulator left Qualcomm in a prolonged standoff by examining the US chipmaker's plan to acquire a Dutch competitor. Beijing has never officially approved nor denied the multibillion dollar deal, which resulted in its abandonment last year, after the Trump administration had begun to increase the rights of customs on imports of Chinese products. Authorities in eight other jurisdictions, including the United States, had already endorsed the agreement. The Chinese authorities have denied that the problem is linked to the commercial struggle.
In a statement released on Wednesday, a Ford spokesman said Changan Ford has taken "corrective action" regarding its sales policy.
"Changan Ford will continue to ensure that its commercial activities contribute to a free and fair competitive environment," the statement said.
The builder's shares fell about 2% early in the trading session on Wednesday.
Ford and other American builders have been fighting in China lately. The country is the largest auto market in the world, but the Chinese economy is slowing down and some assembly plants run by Detroit automakers are laying off workers and are under-productive.
Changan Ford was established in 2001 and produces most of Ford's leading models in China. The number of cars sold in April decreased by more than 60% compared to the previous year.
Cui Dongshu, general secretary of the China Passenger Car Association, which represents the automakers, said on Wednesday that the antitrust authority's decision against Changan Ford was a "normal" stage of promoting competition and that she It had nothing to do with conflicts with the United States. States. And indeed, the move is not out of step with the authorities' previous actions in China.
"The Chinese anti-monopoly regulator also has the flavor of a price regulator," said Lester Ross, a partner at the WilmerHale Law Firm's Beijing office.
"It's a peculiarity of the system here," he added. "They are paying more attention to the welfare of retailers and retailers than to the well-being of consumers."
In contrast, the view of US regulators is usually that, if you do not like the price you pay for something, you can, as a consumer, buy another product, Ross said.
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