China expands economic pressure toolkit
- Reuters reported Monday that China used its U.S. trade truce to add new legal, export-control and supply-chain pressure tools before a Trump-Xi summit. - Beijing issued April rules on extraterritorial sanctions and supply-chain security, while U.S. businesses chased as much as $175 billion in tariff refunds. - The truce cut headline tariffs, but firms still face new Chinese leverage and slow U.S. repayment claims. (reuters.com)
China has used its trade truce with the United States to widen its economic pressure options ahead of a planned May summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing. (reuters.com) Reuters reported on April 27 that Beijing has added new legal, supply-chain and technology controls even as the Busan truce signed in October 2025 remains in force until November 2026. (reuters.com) On April 13, China’s State Council published rules authorizing countermeasures against foreign states’ “unlawful extraterritorial jurisdiction,” a category state media said can cover secondary sanctions and spillover from export controls. (english.www.gov.cn) (reuters.com) Six days earlier, on April 7, Beijing issued industrial and supply-chain security regulations that let authorities investigate and act against foreign countries, companies or organizations accused of discriminatory measures. (english.www.gov.cn) (reuters.com) Reuters also said Chinese officials held talks on April 15 with solar-equipment suppliers about possible limits on exports of the most advanced panel-making technology to the United States. China makes more than 80% of the world’s solar panel components. (reuters.com) The same report pointed to earlier steps: a January 14 order for Chinese companies to stop using cybersecurity software from more than a dozen U.S. and Israeli firms, and February restrictions on dual-use exports to 20 Japanese entities. (reuters.com) (usnews.com) At the same time, the Trump administration has started the opposite process at home: paying back tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down in February after ruling against Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. (cnbc.com) (cbsnews.com) U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened its CAPE claims portal on April 20, and businesses are seeking refunds worth up to $175 billion, according to CBS News, or more than $160 billion, according to CNBC. (cbsnews.com) (cnbc.com) Some importers say the portal has not been smooth. Learning Resources CEO Rick Woldenberg told CBS News the system showed a high-volume error, while Busy Baby co-founder Beth Benike said she spent more than four hours on hold with Customs over an account problem. (cbsnews.com) The sums are large enough to matter across retail. Citi estimated Walmart could recover $10.2 billion, Target $2.2 billion and Nike $1 billion. (cnbc.com) For smaller companies, the process is more personal. Dame Products cofounder Alexandra Fine said her company added a Trump tariff surcharge last year, is refunding customers now, and is still trying to recover its own tariff payments through the Customs portal. (businessinsider.com) (cbsnews.com) The result is a split-screen trade story: Washington is unwinding part of last year’s tariff shock, while Beijing is building a broader menu of tools that can outlast any temporary tariff pause. (reuters.com) (cbsnews.com)
