USA and EU file unfair trade case at WTO; China defends tax move

The USA and the European Union have launched a World Trade Organisation (WTO) case accusing China of unfair trade for slapping export taxes on key raw materials, but China has cited the tax move as necessary to curb pollution and overexpansion in the sector. China’s tax restrictions, which were described by US trade representative Ron Kirk as a “major problem”, cover a wide range of raw materials, including coking coal, bauxite, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, zinc and yellow phosphorus. The complaint is against China’s export taxes of 15% on bauxite, 40% on coke, 15% on silicon, 10% on magnesium and 20% on manganese flake, silico-manganese, ferro-manganese, among others. Troubling Chinese measures restricting exports of these products “appear to be part of a troubling industrial policy aimed at providing substantial competitive advantages for the Chinese industries using these inputs”, Kirk said at a press conference. The EU has...