Chinese In Violation Of World Trade Law On Metal Exports Restriction

China has broken international trade law by restricting the export of rare earth elements and other metals crucial to modern manufacturing, a World Trade Organization panel said Wednesday. That conclusion opens the possibility that Beijing will face trade sanctions from the United States, which brought the case, and the European Union and Japan.

China produces more than nine-tenths of the global supply of the strategically important metals, which are essential to a host of modern applications including smartphones, wind turbines, industrial catalysts and high-tech magnets. Prices soared in 2010 after Beijing cut export quotas by about 40 percent, to just over 30,000 tons, saying the restrictions were necessary on environmental grounds.

But critics said the quotas gave an unfair advantage to China’s domestic manufacturing industries. Members of the W.T.O. panel considering the case in Geneva agreed with that assessment.

CNBC

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Mingze Wu

Mingze Wu

Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Based in Singapore, Mingze Wu focuses on trading strategies and technical and fundamental analysis of major currency pairs. He has extensive trading experience across different asset classes and is well-versed in global market fundamentals. In addition to contributing articles to MarketPulseFX, Mingze centers on forex and macro-economic trends impacting the Asia Pacific region.
Mingze Wu