Tag: trade and development

AI chip exports: US escalates tech battle by cutting China off from more semiconductors
Technology

AI chip exports: US escalates tech battle by cutting China off from more semiconductors

Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter which explores what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Hong Kong/Washington CNN  —  The Biden administration is reducing the types of semiconductors that American companies will be able to sell to China, citing the desire to close loopholes in existing regulations announced last year. On Tuesday, the US Commerce Department unveiled new rules that further tighten a sweeping set of export controls first introduced in October 2022. The updated rules “will increase effectiveness of our controls and further shut off pathways to evade our restrictions,” US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a st...
The world will pay a high price if China cuts off supplies of chipmaking materials
Technology

The world will pay a high price if China cuts off supplies of chipmaking materials

Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter which explores what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Hong Kong CNN  —  Just one month after China announced it would curb exports of germanium and gallium, both essential for making semiconductors, its overseas shipments of the materials fell to zero. Beijing says it has since approved some export licenses but the restrictions are a stark warning that China has a powerful weapon it can deploy in the escalating trade war over the future of tech. The curbs came after the United States, Europe and Japan restricted sales of chips and chipmaking equipment to China to cut off its access to key technology that c...
Microsoft, Amazon facing UK antitrust probe over cloud serivces
Technology

Microsoft, Amazon facing UK antitrust probe over cloud serivces

London CNN  —  Microsoft and Amazon could be in hot water over apparently making it difficult for UK customers to use multiple suppliers of vital cloud services. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the country’s antitrust regulator, said Thursday it was launching an investigation into the UK cloud infrastructure services market to determine whether players were engaged in anti-competitive practices. Cloud computing firms, such as Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS), use data centers around the world to provide remote access to computing services and storage. This “cloud infrastructure” forms the foundation for how software applications, such as Gmail and Dropbox, are developed and run. ...
The US government and 17 states sues Amazon in landmark monopoly case
Technology

The US government and 17 states sues Amazon in landmark monopoly case

CNN  —  The US government and 17 states are suing Amazon in a landmark monopoly case reflecting years of allegations that the e-commerce giant abused its economic dominance and harmed fair competition. The groundbreaking lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission and 17 attorneys general marks the government’s sharpest attack yet against Amazon, a company that started off selling books on the internet but has since become known as “the everything store,” expanding into selling a vast range of consumer products, creating a globe-spanning logistics network and becoming a powerhouse in other technologies such as cloud computing. The 172-page complaint alleges Amazon unfairly promotes its own platform a...
US says it has no evidence that Huawei can make advanced smartphones ‘at scale’
Technology

US says it has no evidence that Huawei can make advanced smartphones ‘at scale’

Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter which explores what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Hong Kong CNN  —  Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says the US government has no evidence that Huawei can produce smartphones with advanced chips “at scale,” as it continues to investigate how the sanctioned Chinese manufacturer made an apparent breakthrough with its latest flagship device. On Tuesday, Raimondo told US lawmakers that she was “upset” by news of the launch of Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro during her visit to China last month. “The only good news, if there is any, is we don’t have any evidence that they can manufacture 7-nanometer [chip...
Arm IPO: China is huge for the SoftBank-owned company. That’s a risk for its new investors
Technology

Arm IPO: China is huge for the SoftBank-owned company. That’s a risk for its new investors

Hong Kong CNN  —  As British chip designer Arm prepares to raise about $5 billion in an initial public offering (IPO) on Thursday, its China business has become a serious point of concern. The SoftBank-owned firm used many pages of its IPO prospectus to warn investors of risks related to its exposure to China at a time of rising tension between Washington and Beijing over chip technology. Its regulatory filing last month revealed that a quarter of its sales come from China, through an unusual relationship with an entity it does not control and with which it has a complex history. Arm China is “an entity that operates independently of us and is our single largest customer,” the company s...
Landmark Google trial opens with sweeping DOJ accusations of illegal monopolization
Technology

Landmark Google trial opens with sweeping DOJ accusations of illegal monopolization

CNN  —  US prosecutors opened a landmark antitrust trial against Google on Tuesday with sweeping allegations that for years the company intentionally stifled competition challenging its massive search engine, accusing the tech giant of spending billions to operate an illegal monopoly that has harmed every computer and mobile device user in the United States. In opening remarks before a federal judge in Washington, lawyers for the Justice Department alleged that Google’s negotiation of exclusive contracts with wireless carriers and phone makers helped cement its dominant position in violation of US antitrust law. The Google case has been described as one of the largest US antitrust trials since the fe...
Google stands trial against US government officials in antitrust lawsuit over the company’s accused search monopoly
Technology

Google stands trial against US government officials in antitrust lawsuit over the company’s accused search monopoly

CNN  —  Google will face off in court Tuesday against government officials who have accused the company of antitrust violations in its massive search business, kicking off a long-anticipated legal showdown that could reshape one of the internet’s most dominant platforms. The trial beginning this week in Washington before a federal judge marks the culmination of two ongoing lawsuits against Google that started during the Trump administration. Legal experts describe the actions as the country’s biggest monopolization case since the US government took on Microsoft in the 1990s. In separate complaints, the Justice Department and dozens of states accused Google in 2020 of abusing its dominance in onli...
Huawei Mate 60 Pro: Shares in Chinese chipmaker SMIC plunge as US calls for further sanctions
Technology

Huawei Mate 60 Pro: Shares in Chinese chipmaker SMIC plunge as US calls for further sanctions

Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter which explores what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Hong Kong CNN  —  Shares in SMIC, China’s largest contract chipmaker, plunged on Thursday, after two US congressmen called on the White House to further restrict export sales to the company. The comments came after Huawei Technologies introduced the Mate 60 Pro, a Chinese smartphone powered by an advanced chip that is believed to have been made by SMIC. Last week’s launch shocked industry experts who didn’t understand how SMIC, which is headquartered in Shanghai, would have the ability to manufacture such a chip following sweeping efforts ...
US judge set to decertify Google Play class action
Technology

US judge set to decertify Google Play class action

CNN  —  A US judge plans to free Google from having to defend against a class action by 21 million consumers who claimed it violated federal antitrust law by overcharging them in its Google Play app store. Monday’s decision by US District Judge James Donato in San Francisco could significantly reduce damages that Google, a unit of Alphabet, might owe over the distribution of Android mobile applications. Consumers claimed they would have paid less for apps and enjoyed expanded choice but for Google’s alleged monopoly. Google has denied wrongdoing. Donato said his Nov. 2022 class certification order should be thrown out because his decision, also announced Monday, not to let an economist t...