EU Takes China to the WTO Over Technology-Transfer Practices

The European Union complained to the World Trade Organization about China’s technology-transfer practices in a surprise move that adds to U.S. political pressure on Beijing.

On the same day it filed a WTO complaint over U.S. metal tariffs, the EU turned to the global trade arbiter to challenge Chinese intellectual-property legislation that forces European companies going to China to grant ownership or usage rights to local entities. China already faces the threat of U.S. duties on as much as $150 billion of Chinese goods sold in the American market as a result of alleged IP theft.