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Events/Law or policy · 2012

WTO dispute over China's rare earth export restrictions

Law or policy, 13 March 2012, China.

What happened

The United States asked for WTO consultations on China's export duties, quotas and licensing for rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum. The EU and Japan filed parallel cases and a panel was set up on 23 July 2012. Findings are not on the opened page.1,2

Why it matters

The case tested export controls on critical minerals.1,2

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. Mountain Pass mining stops

    The pause left China with over 90 percent of world rare earth production in the years that followed.3,4

  2. China cuts rare earth export quota

    USGS says rare earth product prices rose sharply in 2010 after the drop in exports.3,5,6

  3. Lynas starts Mount Weld concentrate production

    Mount Weld was the main new rare earth source outside China after the 2010 export quota cuts.3,7

  4. Molycorp commissions new Mountain Pass operations

    From 2012 to 2015 the US was a leading producer of rare earths outside China.3,4

  5. WTO dispute over China's rare earth export restrictions

    The case tested export controls on critical minerals.1,2

Open the full timeline

Where next

Events

An example ofChina begins export controls on gallium and germaniumIn July 2023 China put gallium and germanium exports under licence.8Came out ofChina cuts rare earth export quotaIn 2012 the US asked for WTO talks on China's rare earth export duties and quotas.1

Sources

  1. DS431 China: measures related to the exportation of rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum World Trade Organization
  2. Geneva (item Q71), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  3. Rare-Earth Elements, Professional Paper 1802-O US Geological Survey
  4. Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine (item Q4285560), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  5. China's Rare-Earth Industry, OFR 2011-1042 US Geological Survey
  6. Beijing (item Q956), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  7. Mount Weld Mine (item Q1950809), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  8. China: Government announces export control measures for gallium and germanium Global Trade Alert

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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