Trade fight shifts to payments and tech
- Commentators say the US-China contest is moving beyond tariffs into payments systems, tech controls, and supply chains. - Videos and podcasts point to Chinese cross-border payment alternatives and European moves to reduce reliance on US card networks. - The framing suggests governments are weaponizing financial plumbing and export controls as long-term strategic levers ( ).
The U.S.-China trade fight is spreading beyond tariffs into the pipes that move money and the rules that gate advanced chips. (congress.gov) (bis.gov) By February 20, 2026, average two-way tariff rates were still about 34% on U.S. imports from China and 31% on Chinese imports from the U.S., according to the Congressional Research Service. After tariff rates peaked in mid-April 2025, both governments shifted more pressure onto export controls, market restrictions and other non-tariff tools. (congress.gov) China has been building its own cross-border yuan network through the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, or CIPS, which said it had 194 direct participants and 1,597 indirect participants as of April 16, 2026. The system’s website says it handled RMB 180 trillion in annual business volume in 2025. (cips.com.cn) Europe is moving on a parallel track in consumer payments. In an April 8, 2025 speech, European Central Bank executive board member Piero Cipollone said people in 13 euro-area countries rely only on international card schemes or mobile solutions for in-store payments. (ecb.europa.eu) That dependence has turned payment rails into a sovereignty issue in Brussels as relations with Washington have frayed. Euronews reported on March 3, 2026 that Visa and Mastercard handled 61% of euro-area card transactions and that Wero, a bank-backed European wallet launched in 2024, is being built out as a regional alternative by 2027. (euronews.com) (epicompany.eu) The mechanics are simple: card networks and cross-border payment systems are the plumbing that clears transactions between banks and merchants. Export controls are the gatekeepers for high-end tools and chips, and Washington has used them repeatedly since the Bureau of Industry and Security’s October 7, 2022 semiconductor rule aimed at China. (bis.gov) That policy is still evolving. On January 13, 2026, the Bureau of Industry and Security said it would review export license applications for Nvidia H200, AMD MI325X and similar chips to China on a case-by-case basis if applicants meet security conditions. (bis.gov) Europe’s payments push is also being backed by regulation, not just rhetoric. European Union Regulation 2024/886 on instant credit transfers in euro was adopted on March 13, 2024 and entered into force in April 2024, giving banks deadlines to make real-time euro transfers more widely available. (eur-lex.europa.eu) (osborneclarke.com) Supporters say these systems reduce vulnerability to foreign pressure and keep fees, data and settlement capacity closer to home. Critics say alternatives to Visa, Mastercard or the dollar-based financial system still face the harder test of scale, merchant acceptance, legal protections and trust. (ecb.europa.eu) (euronews.com) The result is a trade contest that now runs through customs desks, chip licenses and checkout screens at the same time. Tariffs remain in place, but the longer fight is increasingly about who controls the infrastructure underneath global commerce. (congress.gov) (cips.com.cn)
