WTO Confirms Support for Japan, U.S., EU over Chinese Rare Earths

Geneva, Aug. 7 (Jiji Press)--The World Trade Organization released a report on Thursday confirming its support for Japan, the United States and the European Union in their rare earth dispute with China. In the report, the Appellate Body, the WTO's top court, upheld a WTO dispute settlement panel's ruling in March that China's export duties and restrictions for rare earths, as well as tungsten and molybdenum, are not meant to preserve natural resources and thus violate WTO agreements. China, the world's largest rare earth producer, is now urged to correct steps taken since 1999. In 2010, Chinese rare earth exports to Japan effectively stopped as bilateral relations worsened following a Chinese fishing boat's crash into Japan Coast Guard vessels near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands in the East China Sea. As rare earths are necessary for high-tech products, the Japanese electronics industry was badly affected by the halt in supplies from China. In March 2012, the Japan-U.S.-EU trio filed a complaint against China with the WTO after failing to resolve the issue in talks with that country. It was the first time for Japan to bring a case against China to the WTO. In March this year, the dispute settlement panel accepted most of the trio's claims. But China and the United States were unhappy with the ruling, separately appealing to the Appellate Body in April. END