The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has released a panel report that has found that a number of Chinese export restrictions, specifically on raw materials like metals, violate the rules put in place by the WTO.

The panel found that a number of the measures put in place by the Chinese were contrary to China’s WTO Accession agreement and to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).  This results in prices of raw materials in the global market being driven up, which in turn benefits China when they sell.

The WTO case was launched in 2009 by the U.S., the E.U. and Mexico against China’s export restrictions on a number of raw materials, including bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon carbide, silicon metal, yellow phosphorus and zinc.  These materials are widely used in the steel, aluminum and chemicals industries.

Canada also participated in the investigation, with Ron Watkins, President of the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA), commenting “We welcome today’s ruling.  It underscores that China must respect the rules to which it agreed when it joined the WTO. Contravening the WTO rules creates an artificial advantage for China’s own industries in export as well as domestic markets.”

Watkins went on to claim that the investigation was evidence that China is willing to engage in anti-market practices for its own gain, adding “we can only be successful in continuing to build a strong and sustainable steel industry, providing thousands of high-paid jobs in Canada, with fair trade practices by all countries.”