Today, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced that the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body has upheld the finding that China violated international trade rules by applying export restraints to a range of rare earths.
Commented Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM):
“This ruling will help open the pressure valve that gives China control over the global price and availability of rare earths. These elements are critical to high-tech components used in both commercial products and defense applications. For too long, China’s export restrictions have held U.S. producers and workers hostage, and undermined our national security. We applaud USTR for pursuing the enforcement of our trade laws through the WTO.”
READ: A May 2013 report by Brigadier General John Adams (U.S. Army, retired) found that the health of America’s defense industrial base is in jeopardy because of an over-reliance on foreign suppliers for critical defense materials, including rare earth elements and minerals.