The International Trade Commission said Thursday it will investigate Chinese state support in the biotechnology sector as part of a pair of new probes looking at the U.S. trade relationship with Beijing.
The commission is launching a pair of China-focused fact-finding missions under Section 332 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the agency said.
The first will examine the impacts of revoking permanent normal trade relations with China, which would eliminate China’s access to most favored nation tariff rates and allow the U.S. to apply tariffs on Chinese exports in a targeted manner. The Trump administration already broke with the MFN principle when it applied country-specific reciprocal tariffs last year, but those were struck down by the Supreme Court last week.
This investigation will be carried out on an expedited timeline, ITC said in a press release, with a final report expected in late August.
The second investigation will look into how Chinese state support and pricing practices in the biotech sector are impacting U.S. companies. ITC officials plan to examine subsidies for genomic sequencing, synthetic biology and pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing, the press release says.
The ITC expects to complete the report early next year.
Section 332 investigations don’t typically result in policy recommendations. However, companies can use the reports to mount their own countervailing duty or antidumping cases, which can lead to tariffs.
China has set its sights on becoming a global biotech leader. In 2022, Beijing published its first industry-specific five-year plan for the bioeconomy, which included development goals in the fields of bio-agriculture, biopharma, bio-manufacturing and biosecurity. Among the goals were breakthroughs in genomics, crop hybrid breeding, preventative veterinary medicine and pest and disease prevention, a USDA report from December noted.
But the industry lags the U.S. and Europe, according to analysis from the Mercator Institute for China Studies. China held around 5% of the global biotech market in 2024, compared to the U.S.’ 35% and Europe’s 31%.
To close that gap, Beijing has been offering perks to high-tech businesses, including preferential access to capital, the analysis notes.
The bulk of China’s biotech market comes from healthcare, but agriculture makes up around 10% of the industry. China dominates U.S. supply chains for biochemical compounds like amino acids and vitamins, for example. It holds around 68% of the global amino acid market and 75% in vitamins.
Representatives from the U.S. feed industry have long complained that state support has afforded China an unfair advantage in international markets that it has used to drive competitors out of business and tighten its grip on global supply chains. A report published by the Institute for Feed Education and Research in November found that in 2024, Chinese firms logged vitamin prices around 34% below their international competitors.
The American Feed Industry Association has been pushing the issue with members of Congress, as well as officials in USDA, the White House’s National Security Council, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Commerce Department’s supply chain center, CEO Constance Cullman told reporters late last year.
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