US, EU and Japan Challenge China on Rare Earths at WTO
March 14th, 2012Via: BBC:
The US, Japan and the European Union have filed a case against China at the World Trade Organization, challenging its restrictions on rare earth exports.
US President Barack Obama accused China of breaking agreed trade rules as he announced the case at the White House.
Beijing has set quotas for exports of rare earths, which are critical to the manufacture of high-tech products from hybrid cars to flat-screen TVs.
It is the first WTO case to be filed jointly by the US, EU and Japan.
They argue that by limiting exports, China, which produces more than 95% of the world’s rare earth metals, has pushed up prices.
The co-ordinated complaints are the first step in a process that could ultimately lead to sanctions against China.
“The United States Geological Survey is actively surveying southern Afghanistan for rare earth deposits under the protection of United States military forces. Since 2009 the USGS has conducted remote sensing surveys as well as fieldwork to verify Soviet claims that volcanic rocks containing rare earth metals exist in Helmand province near the village of Khanneshin. The USGS study team has located a sizable area of rocks in the center of an extinct volcano containing light rare earth elements including cerium and neodymium. It has mapped 1.3 million metric tons of desirable rock, or about 10 years of supply at current demand levels. The Pentagon has estimated its value at about $7.4 billion”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_earth_element
Who is going to sue the US and its ‘coalition partners’ for causing the trebling of the price of oil over the last decade? Purely coincidentally, this trebling in price is the only reason US oil extraction and the toxic Canadian oil sands have become financially feasible.
I’m guessing that the prices for rare earths dropped after China increased their output in the late 20th century causing Molycorp to close their mine.Now China has the market to themselves. This is the ‘neo’ (con/lib) strategy, successfully employed by & for the US for decades angainst any and all. Now it’s ‘not fair’.
http://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2009/12/30/saupload_rareearths.jpg