Overview
- The OECD used its MAGIC database of 525 large manufacturers to estimate subsidies actually received and found support for 15 covered sectors hit $108 billion in 2024.
- Chinese firms received far larger transfers than peers, averaging about 2.5% of revenue across 2005–2024 and three to eight times the support given to OECD‑based firms.
- The report attributes roughly 22% of market‑share gains for firms that grew globally to subsidies, rising to nearly 60% for Chinese firms, showing subsidies materially aided overseas expansion.
- Subsidies were concentrated in strategic heavy industries such as solar panels, semiconductors, aluminium, steel and shipbuilding, yet the OECD found little evidence these payments raised productivity or profitability.
- The findings increase pressure on policymakers to boost transparency, tighten subsidy disciplines and consider trade remedies, which could reshape global competition and affect jobs and investment in exposed industries.