A Study On The Legitimacy Of Rare Metal Export Restriction In China

June2009, the United States, European Union, Mexico and other countriesjointly appeal to the WTO dispute settlement body,accusing China of restrictingexports of rare raw materials. Restrict the export of rare metals that China measuresagainst the " General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade " and the general commitmentto " China’s WTO accession Protocol" offset or damage to agreements based onquoted directly or indirectly benefit entitlements. In international trade, the numberof restrictions is a major non-tariff measures. Although the WTO requirementsgenerally prohibit the use of quantity restrictions, restrictive trade practices, but thisis still often used by countries to achieve the objective of protecting the domesticenvironment and industry. General principle of the prohibition of quantitativerestrictions limiting the number of measures, including three categories: namelyquotas, import and export licenses and other measures. Meanwhile, the number ofobjects restrictions prohibited both direct government action, including indirect actsof government; both export products, including imported products. Within theprescribed period, the goods can be imported within the quota, the quota can not beimported or imposed higher tariffs. Quota is divided into absolute quotas and tariffquotas.In pursuit of WTO trade liberalization, but also a profound understanding of theso-called trade liberalization is just one of the policy objectives pursued by theMember States, and other policy objectives, such as environmental protection, publicmorality, labor standards, etc., and trade liberalization has equally or even moreimportant value. Thus, WTO member states on the one hand requires removal of non-tariff barriers in order to promote trade liberalization and trade measures in violationof WTO member countries on the other hand, to achieve their policy objectives andthe implementation of spared to develop a "general exceptions rule,"allowing theMember States for a specific purpose and reason, or contrary to the rules adopteddeviate GATT1994import and export measures to make their own commitments tothe WTO rules reasonably avoid. This is GATT1994section20, the so-called "escapeclause.