On July 5, the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced its final decision that the Chinese government's restrictions on exports of nine raw materials has infringed the organization's rules and has broken the commitment China made on its entry into the organization.
The WTO panel decision concluded that Chinese quotas, export duties and license requirements put in place a discriminatory system for the overseas sale of industrial raw materials widely used in the steel, aluminum and chemicals industries, including coke, zinc and bauxite. The WTO rejected the argument put forward by China that the raw material export restrictions were based on a desire to protect the environment and prevent a critical shortage of the materials in question.
The WTO panel stated that China is now rectifying its export quota framework as per the WTO's rules.