Brussels, 15/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - While the EU, the United States and Japan have filed a joint complaint with the WTO against restrictions on exports of rare earths from China, the latter, in its defence, continues to fall back on environmental considerations.
Chinese restrictions to exports of rare earths are justified and in line with WTO rules, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Trade told the press on Thursday 15 March. Cited by the Chinese press, Shen Danyang explained that the policy aims to protect resources and the environment in order to ensure sustainable development. China, he said, does not intend to restrict free trade or to protect Chinese industry through trade alteration. Given the growing pressure being put on resources and the environment, Beijing has in recent years restricted the development of polluting and high-energy and resource-intensive industry, which has not only led to the promotion of the country's scientific development but also to sustainable global growth, Shen said.
On Tuesday 13 March, the EU lodged a formal complaint with the WTO alongside the United States and Japan, regarding its dispute with China over rare earth exports, tungsten and molybdene. The complaint denounces three kinds of restrictive measures (export duties, export quotas and minimum export prices). Speaking on Thursday, Shen promised that China would deal with the request for the dispute to be resolved in the appropriate manner, in line with WTO regulations.
China is the world's leading producer of rare earth elements, a set of 17 minerals with chemical and electromagnetic properties such as cerium, lithium or indium, which are essential for the production of batteries for electric cars, wind turbines and solar panels, and also for mobile phones and flat screen displays. Beijing's resolve to control its rare earth exports has generated a wave of contest from industrialised countries since autumn 2010, as 97% of the production of such metals is located in China, albeit with only 35% of global resources. China is also by far the largest producer worldwide for tungsten (91%) and molybdene (36%).
Followed by the United States and Mexico (DS 395 and DS 398), the EU had already filed a first complaint with the WTO in 2009 concerning Chinese restrictions on exports of raw material (bauxite, coke, fluorspar, carbon silicide, magnesium, manganese, metal silicon, phosphorous and zinc). The WTO had, in early July 2011, condemned the unilateral measures taken by China, considering them incompatible with the rules. This verdict was confirmed at the end of January this year by the WTO appellate body, which felt that the Chinese restrictions could not be justified for reasons of environmental protection or conservation as invoked by Beijing. (EH/transl.jl)