At the request of the United States, the European Union and Japan, the Dispute Settlement Body established on 23 July 2012 a panel to consider China’s export restraints of rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum.
The restraints to be investigated include:
- Export quotas,
- Export duties,
- Restrictions on the right to export (various)
- Administrative requirements that limit China’s exports of these materials ( by increasing the burden and costs for exporting.)
The European Union said that export restrictions in this dispute constitute a violation of China’s WTO commitments undertaken under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as well as commitments undertaken in China’s Accession Protocol specifically aimed at these types of restrictions.
Japan said that China’s exports restrictions are inconsistent with China’s obligations under the WTO Agreement.
The WTO members announcing they wanted to exercise third-party rights were Viet Nam, Norway, Oman, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India, Canada and Colombia.
According to the EU, the export restrictions significantly distort the market and create competitive advantages in favour of China’s manufacturing industry to the detriment of foreign competition.
China said it has no intention of protecting domestic industry through means that would distort trade.
Note to China: It’s not what you intend, its what you actually do…
Nice discussion at Propurchaser blog
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news_e.htm
P.S To Baby Boomers: We’re not talking about
