Following protestations aired back in September 2008, the European Union and the USA were poised to take formal action against China at the time of press over export restrictions on around 20 exported raw materials, including bauxite, fluorspar, magnesite, rare earths, and talc.
In early June it was reported that Brussels and Washington were to formally request consultations with Beijing on the issue, and 22 June was scheduled as the day of discussions.
Should these talks fail, the next stage would be for the EU/USA to request a WTO panel to hear the complaint.
The charge is that China has been placing unfair export quotas and taxes on these raw materials (also including yellow phosphorus, antimony, coke, tungsten, and zinc) which are distorting the global market and hindering European and US industries which consume these key raw materials for their manufacturing (eg. steelmaking).
Any trader in the industrial minerals business...