- China lifts restrictions on exports of rare earths on again. Reason for the decision is an arbitration ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- companies from the US and Europe had complained of a competitive disadvantage. 2010 China had constraints in export prices then rose sharply.
- Rare earths are fundamental components of electronic devices such as computers and cell phones. 90 percent of global production comes from China.
export restrictions fall away
According to state media, China has lifted the restrictions on exports of rare earths. This makes it come to a ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which had declared the export quotas inadmissible.
A WTO arbitration court ruled in March after a complaint by the US, EU and Japan that the export quotas Chinese companies an unfair competitive advantage. The restrictions had the world market prices for the much sought-after commodities in the meantime strongly driven up.
In the meantime, however, the demand dropped again. Observers expect that China could replace the export quotas about by higher commodity taxes.
Raw materials for technology
From China comes more than 90 percent of world production of the coveted industrial metals. They are needed for defense and many technology products such as computers, cell phones and batteries.
reference to ecological damage
China had exports in 2010 restricted on the grounds that the environment and resources to better protect want. Decades of unbridled economic growth have brought China tremendous environmental problems. Worldwide, companies had criticized the shortage with sharp words and predicts a competitive disadvantage.
Beijing pointed out that other countries such as the US had closed many mining sites for ecological reasons. To obtain rare earth high amounts of acid are required. In addition, easily gives rise to radioactive waste. China tried recently to curb domestic production and supporting the fight against smuggling and illegal production.
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