The long awaited conclusion to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Panel Report on China’s export policies for steelmaking materials has found that aspects of the country’s export procedures are inconsistent with WTO rules.
The Panel has recommended that the Dispute Settlement Body requests China to bring its measures into conformity with its WTO obligations.
The Panel Report, triggered by complaints filed by the EU, Mexico and the USA on 21 December 2009, concerns four types of export restraint that China imposes on certain mineral exports: export duties, export quotas, export licensing, and minimum export prices.
The raw materials in dispute include the industrial minerals of bauxite, fluorspar, and silicon carbide.
The other materials are coke, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, yellow phosphorus, and zinc.
The minerals’ common denominator is that China is a leading global producer...