Brussels, 26/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 26 March, a WTO dispute panel (a special group of experts set up on 24 September 2012) ruled that Chinese quotas on the export of rare earths (a group of 18 metals essential for manufacturing high technology products) are not justified. The panel has thus responded favourably to the complaints lodged by the EU, Japan and the USA against these Chinese measures on rare earths. The case dates back to 2011, when China decided on export quotas for its rare earths in order “to protect its natural resources”. China stated that it had a 90% share of the global rare earths market, although it holds only 23% of global reserves of these resources. The USA, EU and Japan complained about these quotas to the WTO, which set up a panel in 2012 to rule on the dispute. All the parties in this trade dispute have 60 days to appeal against this opinion of the dispute panel. (LC)