Europe and US prosecute to WTO on China’s restriction of rare metals export

2009-09-15

Report by Global Times special correspondent Wang Si.  EU issued a statement on 23rd that US and EU prosecuted to WTO on China’s restriction of rare metals export right day. According to foreign media report that this will be the first case that US prosecuted China to WTO after Obama became the US present in January.

  According to AFP report, EU said in a statement that it applied WTO to inspect China’s restriction of rare metals export on 23rd which breaking the international trade rule.
  At the same time, the US commercial representative Kork said US has also prosecuted to WTO at the same day. Kork said only insist their profit, the American producers could get fair competition environment, and more American work could resume work. He also mentioned that China is the provider of rare metals in the world. How to use these raw materials is quite important to American producers.

Before that US and EU failed to persuade China to cut export tariffs and increase the amount of raw material such as Zinc, Tin, Tungsten and Phos phorus etc.

   Japan???s Kyodo News Agency reports that according to WTO formality, firstly a bilateral negotiation will be arranged for both parties, and then a dispute resolution team will be required by both sides if negotiation failed.

  Zhou shijian, the executive research director of China’s WTO said that US and EU’s prosecution does not make sense when he accepted the interview by Global Times. He also said that of course EU and US hope China could sell recourses without limitation, and they could buy cheapest raw material. It is natural and reasonable to protect resource and environment, which is the same around the world including US. Mr Zhou said that EU and US’s requirement has broken the basic rule of WTO which emphasizes on import and decontrol of the market, while no rules in how to deal with export, nor selling resource freely.

   In the poll launched by Global Net, almost 90% of Chinese internet user agreed to restrict the export of strategic raw materials. More than 60% agreed to use strategic raw material as a bargaining chip to negotiate with EU and US.