The US Trade Representative’s Office announced that China has agreed to end subsidies targeting domestic wind power companies following a complaint filed by the US at the World Trade Organization last December, Bloomberg reported. The US accused China of using its Special Fund for Wind Power Manufacturing to illegally require aid recipients to use Chinese-made components. Individual grants were for as much as US$22.5 million. The original complaint in the US was filed by the United Steelworkers Union, which said the subsidies gave Chinese wind companies an unfair advantage in exports and blocked US firms from selling into China. The union has made similar complaints about China’s policy of restricting exports of raw rare earths. The US also complained that China had ignored a WTO rule requiring it to disclose the existence of subsidy programs on a regular basis.