Obama to announce rare earth trade case against China, page 4

reply to post by xuenchen

Originally posted by xuenchen
Obama to announce rare earth trade case against China

Obama is set to make an announcement.

He will initiating a "trade suit" against China over those essential rare earth elements.

Rare Earth elements are materials used to manufacture high tech products.

It seems China has been placing restrictions on those things.
(probably an effort to raise prices)

By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 0:06 EDT
The Raw Story

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama will Tuesday announce a new trade suit against China prompted by Beijing’s restrictions on the export of rare earth materials used in manufacturing high-tech products.

A senior White House official said on condition of anonymity that the United States would bring the case at the World Trade Organization with the European Union and Japan, in a new sign of election-year trade tensions with Beijing.

China is the world’s largest producer of rare earths — 17 elements critical to manufacturing a range of high-tech products from iPods to missiles — and its moves to dictate production and exports have raised a global outcry.

Critics say Beijing’s strategy is aimed at driving up global prices of the metals and forcing foreign firms to relocate to the vast emerging nation to access them.

But Beijing says the restrictions are necessary to conserve the highly sought natural resource, limit harm to the environment from excessive mining and meet domestic demand.

See you in Court !

I say good for China. I applaud their acumen regarding this situation. So....they are in geographical and direct control of rare resources that every country essentially wants. They have every right to attempt to renegotiate economic terms to be far more beneficial to China.

There is nothing new here. The nations of Europe that practiced colonization have been exploiting the resources of foreign lands for a long time. It is about time that the nations in Asia, beginning with China, stand up and claim the benefits of their natural resources for themselves. Everyone else has to pay. That has been the way of the world since the Age of Exploration. The difference, in this case, is that an Asian power has the economical potential, specifically resources, as opposed to a western power. In short -- the former colonial powers cannot get their cut and they are very upset.

China has the potential to fully exploit and use these resources as they see fit. 100 years ago the nation could not resist the demands of the colonial powers. Now, in the present, they can. If the rest of the world wants these resources they need to do one thing....Step up the Diplomacy. It is hard to imagine the power of being able to make a decision that influences millions. This ball is now in China's court.

....Check?