A Rare-Earths Opportunity

China risks paying a hefty price to defend a failed policy.

A World Trade Organization appeals panel confirmed Monday that China's export restrictions on raw materials such as bauxite and magnesium violated global trade rules. This opens the way for the U.S., EU and Japan to file a similar case against China's export quotas on rare-earth minerals. If Beijing wants to head off the trend of rising protectionism among its trading partners, it will demonstrate that it obeys the rules of the road and dismantle the quotas before a complaint is filed.

The rare earths dispute is more troubling than the case resolved Monday for a number of reasons. It arose ...

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