Trade War Fallout? China Reportedly Mulling Antitrust Probe Into Apple
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Apple may face a Chinese government antitrust investigation into how it handles commissions in its App Store, reports Bloomberg. The possibility rears its ugly head as the Chinese government is looking for leverage in its trade war with the United States. Apple has faced similar investigations in the United States, the European Union, and other regions.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has reportedly been closely examining Apple’s practices and has been in discussions with the company since last year. Conversations have focused on Apple’s 30% commission on in-app purchases and its restrictions on outside payment services.
Chinese regulators are said to be focusing on whether Apple’s fees for Chinese developers are too high. They are also closely examining whether the company’s prohibition of third-party app stores and outside payment methods is stifling competition in the country, negatively impacting Chinese consumers. “If Apple resists making changes, the government may launch a formal investigation,” Bloomberg’s sources said.
The Apple antitrust investigations have been spurred by complaints by developers, customers, and legislators in multiple countries around the globe. Accusations have been made that Apple has a monopoly over the distribution and sale of iPhone apps, setting absolute commission rates and terms and forcing developers to comply with the Cupertino company’s rules.
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to allow iPhone apps to be sold through third-party app marketplaces in the European Union. While Apple complied with the DMA, it has since been accused of malicious compliance with the rules, allegedly making the third-party app store option as unattractive as possible. This has prompted another investigation by EU officials that could lead to the iPhone maker being forced to change how it handles the offering of apps outside of its official App Store.
The possible investigation is also reportedly connected to a long-running dispute between Apple and developers, mainly Tencent and ByteDance. In August 2024, it was reported that Apple had been pressuring the developers to make significant changes to two of China’s most popular apps to eliminate loopholes that allowed developers to circumvent Apple’s usual 30% cut of the action on app purchases and in-app purchases.
Bloomberg reports that China’s antitrust regulator is considering opening an investigation:
China’s antitrust watchdog is laying the groundwork for a potential probe into Apple Inc.’s policies and the fees it charges app developers, part of a broader push by Beijing that risks becoming another flashpoint in the country’s trade war with the US.
Pei Li, Bloomberg
The Cupertino firm has faced similar investigations and lawsuits in numerous other countries, such as Korea, Japan, Australia, and India.
The Chinese government’s threats may also be an attempt to gain leverage in the communist country’s trade war with US President Donald Trump’s administration.
While Trump has yet to implement his threatened chip tariffs, he has imposed a blanket 10% import tariff on all goods imported from China. This caused the Chinese government to immediately respond with its own tariffs on select imports from the US while also announcing it had launched an antitrust investigation into Google.
This isn’t the first round of trade tariff actions between the two countries. During Trump’s first term in 2018, China and the US engaged in an escalating trade war, which saw Trump repeatedly raising tariffs on Chinese goods, with China responding with similar tariffs each time.
