US trade officials request dispute panel

U.S. trade officials requested that the World Trade Organization begin the dispute settlement process over China's export restraints on rare-earth materials. 

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Wednesday that the dispute panel is needed over China's treatment of tungsten and molybdenum because they are "key inputs in a multitude of U.S. manufacturing sectors and American-made products."

"It is vital that U.S. workers and manufacturers obtain the fair and equal access to raw materials like rare earths that China specifically agreed to when it joined the WTO," Kirk said. 

Those products include hybrid car batteries, wind turbines, energy-efficient lighting, steel, advanced electronics, automobiles, petroleum and chemicals. 

The European Union and Japan also requested dispute panels on Wednesday. 

Earlier this year, the United States won a WTO challenge against China’s export restraints on nine other industrial inputs.  China had argued that its export restraints could be justified as conservation or environmental protection measures.  

Kirk called the export restraints "part of a troubling industrial policy aimed at providing substantial competitive advantages for Chinese manufacturers at the expense of foreign manufacturers."

Trade officials argue that limiting exports of the materials gives China the ability to affect global supply and pricing, hurting U.S. companies and putting more pressure on foreign producers to move their operations, jobs and technologies to China.

The United States, the European Union and Japan requested formal consultations with China on March 13 and held consultations on April 25-26, without resolving the issues. 

In all, China’s export restraints on the materials at issue in this dispute cover approximately 100 tariff codes, according to USTR.