WTO panel’s ruling on China rare earths welcomed

BUSINESSEUROPE welcomes the WTO panel’s decision on the case against China’s export restrictions on rare earths. The decision confirms claims by the EU, the US and Japan that these measures are in breach of WTO rules and China’s commitments under its Accession Protocol. The ruling confirms that discriminatory practices - in this case in the form of export restrictions on rare earth elements that are of vital importance for a number of sectors - must not be maintained in the multilateral trading context. European companies agree with the WTO that disguised protectionism, especially under pretextual reference to the protection of the environment, should not be allowed.