CHINA/FILE: File footage shows production of rare earth metals in China, as country challenged over the World Trade Organization over its export restrictions on the raw material
Record ID:
1376993
CHINA/FILE: File footage shows production of rare earth metals in China, as country challenged over the World Trade Organization over its export restrictions on the raw material
- Title: CHINA/FILE: File footage shows production of rare earth metals in China, as country challenged over the World Trade Organization over its export restrictions on the raw material
- Date: 15th March 2012
- Summary: SHANGHAI, CHINA (FILE - JULY 2010) (REUTERS) CROWD OUTSIDE APPLE STORE APPLE LOGO PEOPLE PLAYING WITH IPHONES IN STORE HAND FLIPPING THROUGH PHOTOS ON IPHONE SCREEN
- Embargoed: 29th March 2012 23:48
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: Nature / Environment,Industry
- Reuters ID: LVA17PAM42PRFMIOZ42I2BAY0Z81
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: The United States, Europe and Japan have joined forces to challenge China's restrictions on exports of rare-earth metals, some of the most important raw materials used in advanced technologies from missiles to iPhones.
In a formal complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the three trade powers accused Beijing of trying to hold down prices for its domestic manufacturers and to pressure international firms to move operations to China.
China accounts for around 97 percent of the world's output of the 17 rare earth metals. They are crucial for the defense, electronics and renewable-energy industries and are used in a range of products such as mobile phones, disk drives, wind turbines and electric cars.
File footage shows workers smelting rare earth metal ores in Baotou city in northern China's Inner Mongolia region. Baotou calls itself "home of rare earths" and is home to a Chinese company which says it takes up 62 percent of the world's rare earth production.
Beijing said the export curbs are necessary to control environmental problems caused by rare earth mining and to preserve supplies of an exhaustible natural resource.
China described the trade complaint on Wednesday (March 14) as unfair, arguing that it only controlled 90 percent of global production because other countries, notably the U.S., had long ago closed their own rare earths refineries on pollution concerns.
Beijing set an export quota of 30,258 tonnes in 2011, but it shipped only 16,861 tonnes last year, official data shows.
The squeeze has led to a fourfold increase in export prices over the past two years, encouraging buyers to shift operations to China and also develop non-rare earth technologies.
The rare earths case is the first to be jointly filed by the European Union, the United States and Japan.
China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology said the country was preparing to defend itself in the WTO.
Foreign companies pay up to twice as much as Chinese firms for rare earth metals, the EU said.
The EU directly imports 350 million euros worth of rare earths from China each year and also brings in products of far greater value containing rare earths from Japan and elsewhere. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None