Study On The Legal Application Of The Exception Clauses Of Environmental Protection Under WTO

On March13,2012, Japan, the United States, and the European Union filedRequests for Consultations (Requests) with the World Trade Organization (WTO),contesting China’s export restrictions on rare earth elements (REE). The legal issuethat arises in this case is significant for WTO jurisprudence because they address along-standing tension between free trade and environmental protection.This article discusses the balance between free trade and environmentalprotection under WTO multilateral trade system, the key matter of which is theenvironmental exception clause of Article XX (b) and (g). This article focuses on thelegal interpretation of Article XX by the DSB, which indicates the balance systembetween free trade and environment protection under WTO. In light of the WTO’srecent Appellate Report decision in the China—Raw Material case, this articleconcludes the legal implications of the Raw Material Case for the current REE case.This article finally analysises the recent issued panel report about REE case, predictsthe furture trend of this case and makes some suggestion about what should China doto prevail in such cases in the furture.