The World Trade Organization (WTO) has found that China's export restraints on critical raw materials used in manufacturing violate global trade rules.

According to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the WTO panel found that the export duties and export quotas that China maintains on various forms of bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon carbide, silicon metal, and zinc constitute a breach of WTO rules and that China failed to justify those measures as legitimate conservation measures, environmental protection measures, or short supply measures. The panel also found that China's imposition of minimum export price, export licensing, and export quota administration requirements on these materials, as well as China's failure to publish certain measures related to these requirements, is inconsistent with WTO rules.

• "The WTO made the right call. It's clear that China restricted exports of raw materials for no other reason than to boost their manufacturers to the detriment of those in all other countries. This ruling illustrates why it's so important for the U.S. and others to continue to bring these cases to the WTO. But we'll need to follow up to ensure that China actually complies with this ruling. The U.S. can't get ahead if China is allowed to continue to disregard international trade rules." - Rep Michaud