US: DOJ Head of International Affairs warns Chinese owned firms during speech

The head of international affairs for the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, Roger Alford on Tuesday, May 7, delivered a warning in China for state-owned companies controlled by Beijing as well as other governments, reported Law360.

“Turning to the role of state-owned-enterprises, over the past few decades, SOEs have increasingly played a more prominent role in international commerce. In fact, some of the largest companies in the world are SOEs, including numerous Chinese companies. To the extent those companies engage in anticompetitive commercial behavior that harms the United States market, the Antitrust Division will challenge such behavior and subject foreign SOEs ‘to the U.S. antitrust laws to the same extent as the activities of privately owned firms.’  As Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim said last year, in the United States state-owned enterprises that are engaged in commercial activity are not immune from the antitrust laws and ‘where competitors come together to engage in collusive or anticompetitive behavior, we will bring all our enforcement tools to bear.’”  He said.

This became a pressing concern after Washington banned the sale of US-made semiconductors to ZTE Corp, the world’s fourth largest telecom equipment producer. The ban, which lasted several months, exposed China’s heavy dependence on US-made components for many of its hi-tech industries.