China announced on Tuesday that it has launched an antitrust investigation into Google for allegedly violating the country’s anti-monopoly law. An official notice from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation confirmed that the Android maker had been placed under investigation in accordance with the law.
Google is already under scrutiny for its monopolistic practices in several countries around the world, including its home country, where it lost a landmark case last year. However, the timing of China’s announcement of the new action against Google is suspect, given that the investigation came shortly after the Trump administration’s 10 percent tariffs on US goods went into effect.
While Google search and the tech giant’s other internet services have been unavailable in China since 2010, the company still maintains a presence in the Asian country, mainly through its advertising business, Bloomberg reported.
Apart from Google, China has also taken action against US fashion group PVH Corp (owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, among others), adding it to its list of “unreliable entities”.
Beijing reacts to US tariffs:
Apart from the action against Google and other US companies, China has also disclosed plans to impose 10% tariffs on various US goods, such as crude oil, farm equipment, pickup trucks, and high-performance automobiles like big-engine sports cars.
“The US’s unilateral tariff increase seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization,” China’s ministry of commerce said in a statement.
“It is not only unhelpful in solving its own problems, but also damages normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US,” the statement added.
Google’s regulatory troubles at home:
In August last year, Google lost a case against the US Department of Justice in which the court found the company guilty of violating antitrust laws by maintaining monopolistic control over the search and advertising markets.
“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” the ruling stated.
