Thread: China will cut rare earths export quotas

[My note: the US has a lot of things we don't produce any more due to globalism and environmental regulations. Rare earths are among the things we could be mining on our own if we had the will.]

29 December 2010 Last updated at 03:42 ET

China will cut rare earths export quotas

China has said it will cut exports of rare earth minerals by 10% in 2011.

World manufacturers are heavily reliant on China for these minerals, which are essential for making many electronic goods, such as TVs and PC monitors.

China has 97% of the world's known supply of the goods. The US mined none last year.

Rare earth minerals have been a thorny trade topic for some time, and China has previously promised not to cut supplies drastically.

Rare earths are a collection of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table: scandium, yttrium, and some fifteen lanthanides.

Shares in two Australian companies, which are planning to mine rare earths, jumped more than 10% on the news.

Australia's Lynas Corp , which owns the richest known deposit of rare earth outside China, rose 10.8% while its rival Arafura rose 11.1%.

The US last week said it was "very concerned about China's export restraints on rare earth materials, antimony and tungsten" and could still file a case on that at the World Trade Organisation.

In September, China blocked exports of rare earths to Japan after a territorial row but later resumed them.

The US does have some rare earth supplies and is hoping to start production.

There uses also include the manufacture of wind turbines and hybrid cars.
Growing demand

China has been reducing export quotas of rare earths over the past several years to cope with growing demand at home.

A Commerce Ministry spokesman has also said that China is cutting its supply side too, reining in exploration, production and exports because of what it says are environmental concerns.

The country also plans to raise duties on some rare earths and set up a trade association of suppliers.

China usually issues a second batch of quotas during the year, and it is not known how the figures will change later in 2011.

Japanese manufacturer Sony said Beijing's move was a hindrance to free trade - adding it would work to reduce its reliance on the minerals.

The firm said it was crucial to producing items including magnets, condensers, and abrasives for polishing glass on LCD screens.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12088195

First off with China doing this as a form of protectionism for its own gains why can't we do it also with imposing heavy tariffs on Chinese imported goods or even all imported goods besides raw materials.

Secondly we really need to get rid of a lot of the "green" regulation that makes it near impossible for such mining in the US. We're beset with regulations that hurt our ability to mine locally within the US where we do have a few known deposits of many of the rare earth materials and many areas remain unchecked simply because its hard to profit with regulations being so strict.

Now I do support taking care of our country but often they go to far and we can't keep on relying on foreign imports especially in relation to China.

Syanis wrote,

First off with China doing this as a form of protectionism for its own gains why can't we do it also with imposing heavy tariffs on Chinese imported goods or even all imported goods besides raw materials.

Instead of tariffs, how about imposts?

Imposts set a fee on all imports at an equal rate as opposed to tariffs which tend to be product specific and lead to trade wars.

Had the Congress used the constitutionally sanctioned impost fees as opposed to tariffs specific to certain products, this would have held at bay the animosities between the industrial north and the agricultural south prior to the war between the states.

Should have bought some rare earth stocks four or five years ago. Some were trading as penny stocks and now are trading at 40, 50, or more times. Ten baggers were all around had a fellow acted in a timely manner.