In the first WTO case to be filed jointly by the US, EU and Japan, the three industrial powers will argue that China's REE export restrictions are not in accordance with the coutries obligations under its accession to the WTO.
Following the WTO Dispute Settlement Panel's decision last year regarding Chinese restrictions on numerous other raw materials, including bauxite, fluorspar, silicon carbide, coke and zinc, which found Chinese export and licensing systems not in compliance with their WTO requirements, many were expecting a complaint regarding REEs to follow.
For more on the WTO and China's raw material export regulations, click here.
For more coverage on the REE WTO complaint:
Ironically, the bigget loser in such a case may be Molycorp Minerals, whose share price has benefitted from restricted access to, and a perceived shortage of, REEs.
Posted by: SMI Ltd. | 03/13/2012 at 07:15 PM
it need perhaps one and a half to two years before OMC get an eventual condamnation. an enough lag time to China to indutrialize all it's domestic production leaving nothing REO material to export.
Posted by: hocquard christian | 03/19/2012 at 12:44 AM