China low-priced exports of rare earth 10 years billions of dollars of foreign exchange losses

"After all, there is a corresponding WTO rules , including quotas and tariff setting , although we have been in the effort , the complainant , but impossible to escape the rules of the framework , the result can be said to be expected "

Has been for about two years China Rare international litigation , in the spring of 2014 with the verdict : World Trade Organization (WTO) panel report announced that the export tariffs on China for rare earths , tungsten, molybdenum related products taken in violation of the quota management measures the relevant provisions of the WTO. In other words, China can not continue to manage the use of quotas for exports of rare earth .

This result seems to be difficult to foresee . In early 2012, WTO found on the release of the report , Chinese export restrictions nine kinds of raw materials , to provide protection for domestic manufacturers. The reporting requirements for China to reduce export tariffs lifted export quotas .

Although there are 60 days of the complaint , but many accept the " Oriental Outlook Weekly " interview, the industry believes that , under WTO rules China established comeback very difficult.

Some believe that a rare earth litigation with the U.S. and Europe failed to control the development of the relevant WTO rules , it is actually a concrete manifestation of the U.S. and Europe through the control of the WTO on China resources plundered .

However , " we ourselves should be more reflection. " Secretary-General of Chinese Society of Rare Earths Lin Dong Lu told the reporter, to seriously consider how well the organization's rules limiting .

In a certain period of time , the ruling would obviously have an impact China's rare earth industry , " but in the long run, this effect will soon be over. We should strengthen basic research , major breakthroughs in key technologies, development and application of downstream industries , the use of resources for technology to change the situation . Only then can we talk about rare power to change from passive to active. " Chinese Society of Rare Earths , Deputy Secretary-General Zhang Anwen told correspondents.

Earlier promise

The so-called rare earths international litigation , is the United States , European Union, Japan v. China rare earths , tungsten, molybdenum related products export management measures do not conform to WTO rules and commitments on when China joined the WTO .

China believes that relevant Chinese measures to comply with the WTO "sustainable development" purposes, and the earth as a non-renewable mineral resources , are exhaustible natural resources that can be invoked in 1994 , " GATT " Section 20 bar , to "protect exhaustible natural resources " reasons to restrict exports .

When China joined the WTO, there are 84 tariff increase tariffs. However, in the rare earth, tungsten , molybdenum, three resources , only the heading of a tariff increase range are tungsten , rare earths , molybdenum not in this range.

The so-called tariff , it simply is directory , customs handling import and export goods , according to the tariff tariffs .

Zhang Anwen said , I believe that this 84 year tariff has been determined after a thorough discussion and tough bargaining, " the WTO itself is a very difficult negotiation . WTO should say something to talk about when there allow , is guaranteed , there is slow , some concessions must be made ​​concessions that adhere to never give in , give up some buffer time . "he explained," a dozen years ago to join the WTO negotiations could then our understanding of rare earths does not now so high. "

Therefore, for the rare-earth litigation fails, "After all, there is a corresponding WTO rules , including quotas and tariff setting , although we have been in the effort , in the complaint , but impossible to escape the framework of the rules , so the results can be expected to say in the the . " Lin Dong Lu told the publication .

China 's rare earth reserves by 23 percent , providing more than 90% of the global market supply situation, from the 1980s, it has been going on for nearly 30 years. "So long supply , in terms of some of the developed countries , has been the norm , and formed a dependency. They feel that they should supply them , without considering the devastating impact on our environment. " Zhang Anwen example, heavy rare earth mine in the south , one ton of rare earth ore mined would produce 1,600 tons to 3,000 tons of waste soil waste rock . In the production of one ton of rare earth oxides in Baotou , will produce 30,000 cubic meters gas .

In fact , the United States , Canada and other developed countries have very rich reserves. Prior to the 1980s , these countries are also the supply of rare earth exports. But with the increasing volume of Chinese exports of rare earths , they began to adopt or not adopt without possession to sell . Earlier also an important producer of rare earths United States, 1997 shut down the local 's largest rare earth mine in Mountain Pass mine , rare earth changed cheaper imports from China .

According to the statistics , from 1979 to 1986 rare earth export price was 7-9 U.S. dollars per kilogram ; 1987-1991 years 9.5 to 13.5 U.S. dollars per kilogram ; 1992-2001 , the price dropped to 9-11 U.S. dollars per kilogram ; 2002-2005 years , the price dropped to $ 5.5 per kilogram even .

Guangxian Chinese Academy of Sciences has said that from 1995 to 2005 10 years, because low-priced exports of rare earth , causing China's foreign exchange losses of up to several billions of dollars.

Since 2003 , China began to implement a quota system for rare earths , rare earths by 2005 to further cancellation of export tax rebates , export quotas compressed list of enterprises . Since 2007, China has implemented a mandatory plan for rare earth production , reducing exports of rare earths .

Meanwhile, China 's accession to WTO negotiations in progress , a focus that is lifting barriers on imported products , foreign products in order to achieve fair competition in the Chinese market. After that, as an incentive or a means of suppressing domestic production capacity , China has taken to raise or lower the export tax approach , and take some special products export quota system .

This means that some of the products in the domestic market price is lower than the price in the international market . A similar case is that in June 2009 , the United States , the European Union filed a complaint application to the WTO , said China has adopted export quotas on bauxite, phosphorus and zinc were nine kinds of raw materials, contrary to its WTO accession commitments when . These measures lead to other countries at a disadvantage in the steel , chemical products production and exports , while China -related companies were given an unfair advantage in the competition.

年初2012, WTO released a report finds that China restricts exports of nine kinds of raw materials , to provide protection for domestic manufacturers , and asked China to reduce export tariffs lifted export quotas , obligations stipulated in the WTO .

WTO rules

Although Chinese exports of rare earth , but these low-priced exports of rare earths , in a foreign country after processing, often several times or even hundred times the price and then sold to China .

"We sell things , has always been a low-priced to sell, and buy something , it becomes a high-priced . " Zhang Anwen said , on the one hand to get a high consumer of rare earths benefit our earth, on the other hand give us the legacy of environmental pollution and ecological damage is difficult to recover.

1994 " GATT " Article 20 : If a resource for its members , or that a certain kind of resource exports over , bring their own resources depleted or cause serious environmental pollution, the member is entitled to this resource production, sales , exports take appropriate export controls and export restrictions . And the WTO panel 's ruling that the evidence does not constitute a reason for China to restrict exports .

In a quota , while China take measures to limit the type and amount of mineral smelting , as part of a comprehensive treatment of the rare earths . During this period, China's domestic demand for rare earth consumption is declining , and more emphasis on the efficient use of resources.

Zhang Anwen said that these are clearly beneficial to the environment , it is not any evidence , " we get a quota threshold for the enterprise , the first one is environmental standards , it is a good quality of exports, while the former quota setting , some of the non-compliance products will be exported. "

He suggested that in the future should continue to strengthen the management of the upstream industry , collect resources tax , the establishment of sewage charges , restrictions from the source of production. In addition, to strengthen the management of export enterprises , the industry 's self- importance , the role of industry associations .

In addition, Zhang Anwen recommended strict export barriers to entry , and managed through strict environmental standards , improve resource utilization and other means , to achieve effective management of the industry .

"A lot of times we are being cheap exports , indicating that although we are supply power, but the lack of the right to speak , including in the country, to form a reasonable price mechanism to maintain high and stable rare earth prices , stabilize the most important. " Zhang Anwen said that to establish new export management, must not occur again in the past that " cabbage price . "

Combating the illegal exploitation of focus should be to sink

As early as 1998, China began to implement a system for licensing the export quota of rare earth products , and the inclusion of rare earth materials processing trade ban catalog .

At the same time , by rectifying the order of the rare earth mine , the development of industry access policy, vigorously promote the rare earth industry consolidation and a series of measures , the domestic rare earth prices have been rising .

In 2011, the Ministry of Finance , State Administration of Taxation has issued a notice , decided to adjust the rare earth ores uniform resource tax standards since April of that year . Adjusted ton of rare earth resources tax increase several times over , which soon caused dissatisfaction rare large market demand in countries such as the U.S. , Japan and Europe .

" We can say that the resource tax regulation is still relatively limited. " Deputy Secretary-General Chen Zhanheng told the Chinese Rare Earth Society , resource tax rise, to some extent, to stimulate certain areas of the South indiscriminate Luancai phenomenon , so it has a greater profit margins than the rare formal channels .

" We have to adapt to WTO rules , while avoiding disadvantages , but also make good use of those rules. " Lin Dong Lu told the publication , later to communicate in the framework of the WTO, to strengthen self-discipline, a consensus to achieve environmental protection, rational development and utilization of resources.

For the rare earth industry indiscriminate Luancai circumstances, Lin Dong Lu believes that although there has been a relatively sound legal regulations, but there are many shortcomings in the implementation and supervision levels , " the fight against illegal poaching phenomenon, environmental protection , public security , and there are also mine management , multiple focal points , the intensity of execution, enforcement and punishment mechanism , there are many problems. "

Prior to resort to some places linkage enforcement , the responsibility of local executive leadership , and achieved certain results . But some local officials , who colluded with the illegal mining , "There are some things beyond the reach of the province , management should focus on in the city below the county level . " Zhang Anwen said that if the center of gravity, layers of responsible management in place, strict punishment , not the non- governance.

High-end applications are short board

Zhang Anwen said that in rare earth mining , smelting and separation of rare earth functional materials research and development, China 's technology has been greatly improved. However , the use of rare earths in the downstream areas , especially the core technology components and other high-end products and product development , is still short board , " the state should improve top-level design , good institutional arrangements and strengthening policy, and funding support, encouragement enterprises as the main body, the development of rare earth parts, components technologies, to achieve mass production , to achieve the transformation and upgrading of the rare earth industry , the rare earth resources [ 0.14% ] into economic advantages , the transition from a big country to the rare earth rare earth power. "

In 2011, the State Council issued the " State Council on promoting the sustainable and healthy development of rare earth industry ," clearly required to crack down on illegal mining prospecting and mining and ultra indicators and propose a comprehensive clean-up of rare earth prospecting and mining rights , improve mining barriers to entry.

An anonymous experts interviewed said the magazine actually already should have a new entry companies , "said the one hand, restrictions , on the other hand is still access . Mine in Inner Mongolia have been opened, Jiangxi has also been opened, the heavy rare earth and light rare earth have been covered, the rest of the resources and reserves should be retained , but the status quo is all opened, the conditions of the dig , do not have conditions are digging . "

In addition, the Chinese rare earth enterprises too , is not conducive to the effective use of WTO rules. It is understood that China is now about seven eighty rare earth enterprises , while Western countries generally only seventy-eight . In addition , rare earth enterprises in Western countries generally meticulous division of labor , strictly take the difference of the road, but the actual situation in China is large and comprehensive, industry convergence , which is obviously not conducive to high-end direction.

The experts say that China has a vast territory , but how to take into consideration and the most efficient use of these resources , the management department was not sufficient to consider " ( the WTO ruling ) we excuse, of course, to actively defend , but more importantly, we should analyze our own shortcomings behind closed doors . "


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