NBR just released a new Q&A with energy experts Yufan Hao and Jane Nakano that examines the recent complaint lodged with the WTO by Japan, the U.S., and the EU over China's trade practices with rare earths. A link to the full interview and a summary are below:

"The Debate over Rare Earths: Recent Developments in Industry and the WTO Case"

Q&A with Yufan Hao (University of Macau) and Jane Nakano (CSIS)

Link: http://m.nbr.org/NLQEjR

SUMMARY

In March 2012, the United States, European Union, and Japan filed a complaint in the WTO against China's rare earth trade practices. Rare earth elements are critical to many clean-energy and defense technologies, and China's 97% share of global rare earth mining enhances international interest in how the country permits or denies their trade. Given renewed questions about global availability and the level of international competition, how is the debate over rare earths affecting industry and policy, and how have decision-makers responded to the challenge?

To better understand these issues and the outlook for the WTO process, NBR reunited two scholars who examined the political and economic dimensions of rare earth trade for NBR's 2011 Energy Security Report - Yufan Hao (University of Macau) and Jane Nakano (Center for Strategic and International Studies). Their remarks assess the context, possible consequences, and implications of the WTO case for China, the rare earth industry, and global trade and politics.
Read the full interview for insights on:
- What has changed in rare earth markets since China's temporary halt of exports to Japan in 2010
- Chinese views of the current trade dispute, and how the Chinese government is responding to the WTO case
- How different outcomes to the dispute might be simultaneously good and bad for China and for the United States, Japan, and the EU
Link: http://m.nbr.org/NLQEjR

RELATED RESEARCH
Asia's Rising Energy and Resource Nationalism:
Implications for the United States, China, and the Asia-Pacific Region Free report access through July 31. This report assesses trends in Asia's energy and resource markets and the implications for geopolitics, and features essays by Yufan Hao and Jane Nakano on the political and economic dimensions of rare earth trade.
Access the full report at: http://m.nbr.org/oThdzz

Tracy Timmons-Gray
The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) Seattle, WA

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