NY Times: … American trade officials announced last Friday that they would investigate whether China was violating international trade rules by subsidizing its clean energy industries. The inquiry includes whether China’s steady reductions in rare earth export quotas since 2005, along with steep export taxes on rare earths, are illegal efforts to force multinational companies to produce more of their high-technology goods in China. …
Kawakami: We should not delay implementing of programs of open our rare earth mines and subsidize the environment fixes needed to open the California mine. We sold all the equipment to China for mining these chemicals. I am getting sick and tired of corporate executives transferring our technology and equipment to China help them undermine our country.
We must assume that these actions such as those delineated in the recent Paul Krugman column in the New York Times must be only a beginning for China to use strong arm tactics to act against our interest. They have purposely broken international trade agreements which they signed.
If we let continue to abuse us, we will at some time in the future not be able to act in our own interests effectively if we don’t fix what is wrong with our outsourcing of everything approach started with Reagan. Profits for the few and lower living standards for everyone else is not a policy that we no longer can tolerate for our country.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/opinion/18krugman.html?scp=1&sq=Krugman%20Rare%20Earth&st=Search
Jim Kawakami, Oct 19, 2010, http://jimboguy.blogspot.com
China Halts Key Rare Earth Minerals to USA, Europe, and Japan Keith Bradsher, Oct 19, 2010, HONG KONG — China, which has been blocking shipments of crucial minerals to Japan for the last month, has now quietly halted shipments of some of those same materials to the United States and Europe, three industry officials said on Tuesday.
Related
- Decline in Rare-Earth Exports Rattles Germany (October 20, 2010)
The Chinese action, involving rare earth minerals that are crucial to manufacturing many advanced products, seems certain to further ratchet up already rising trade and currency tensions with the West. Until recently, China typically sought quick and quiet accommodations on trade issues. But the interruption in rare earth supplies is the latest sign from Beijing that Chinese officials are willing to use their growing economic muscle.
“The embargo is expanding” beyond Japan, said one of the three rare earth industry officials, all of whom insisted on anonymity for fear of business retaliation by Chinese authorities. They said Chinese customs officials imposed the broader shipment restrictions Monday morning, hours after a top Chinese official had summoned international news media Sunday night to denounceUnited States trade actions.
China mines 95 percent of the world’s rare earth elements, which have broad commercial and military applications, and are vital to the manufacture of diverse products including large wind turbines and guided missiles. Any curtailment of Chinese supplies of rare earths is likely to be greeted with alarm in Western capitals, particularly because Western companies are believed to keep much smaller stockpiles of rare earths than Japanese companies do. … http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/business/global/20rare.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
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