Rare earth metals (REM) are a set of 17 chemical elements in the
periodic table and include scandium, yttrium, cerium, and
lanthanum. Small concentrations of these metals are a crucial
ingredient in the manufacture of a wide range of high-technology
products, including wind turbines, iPhones, industrial magnets, and
the batteries used in hybrid cars. Extracting rare earth metals can
be a dirty process due to the toxic acids that are used during the
refining process. As a consequence, strict environmental
regulations have made it extremely expensive to extract and refine
rare earth metals in many countries. Environmental restrictions in
countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United States have
opened the way for China to become the world's leading producer and
exporter of rare earth metals. In 1990, China accounted for 27
percent of global rare earth production. By 2010, this figure had
surged to 97 percent. In 2010, China sent shock waves through the
high-tech manufacturing community when it imposed tight quotas on
the exports of rare earths. In 2009, it exported around 50,000 tons
of rare earths. The 2010 quota limited exports to 30,000 tons. The
quota remained in effect for 2011 and was increased marginally to
around 31,000 tons in 2012 and 2013. The reason offered by China
for imposing the export quota is that several of its own mining
companies didn't meet environmental standards and had to be shut
down. The effect, however, was to dramatically increase prices for
rare earth metals outside China, putting foreign manufacturers at a
cost disadvantage. Many observers quickly concluded that the
imposition of export quotas was an attempt by China to give its
domestic manufacturers a cost advantage and to encourage foreign
manufacturers to move more production to China so that they could
get access to lower cost supplies of rare earths. A news magazine
The Economist concluded, "Slashing their exports of rare earth
metals has little to do with dwindling supplies or environmental
concerns. It's all about moving Chinese manufacturers up the supply
chain, now they can sell valuable finished goods to the world
rather than lowly raw materials." In other words, China may have
been using trade policy to support its industrial policy. Developed
countries cried foul, claiming that the export quotas violate
China's obligations under World Trade Organization rules. In July
2012 the WTO responded by launching its own investigation.
Commenting on the investigation, a U.S. administration official
said that the export quotas were part of a “deeply rooted
industrial policy aimed at providing substantial competitive
advantages for Chinese manufacturers at the expense of non-Chinese
manufacturers." In the meantime, the world is not sitting still.
Page 4 In response to the high prices for rare earth metals, many
companies have been redesigning their products to use substitute
materials. Toyota, Renault, and Tesla, for example—all major
automotive consumers of rare earth products—have stated that they
plan to stop using parts that have rare earth elements in their
cars. Governments have also tried to encourage private mining
companies to expand their production of rare earth metals. By 2012,
there were some 350 rare earth mine projects under development
outside China and India. An example, Molycorp, a U.S. mining
company, is quickly boosting its rare earth production at a
California mine. As a consequence of such actions, by early 2014
China's share of ram earth output had slipped to 80 percent. This
did not stop China from announcing quota limits in 2014 that seemed
to be in line with those of 2013.
(a) What are consequences of China’s quota policy concerning REM
exports on China’s domestic industrial sectors?
(b) how China’s policy of restricting REM exports can be considered
as a sophisticated application of strategic trade policy? what is
the underlying objective behind strategic trade policy in order to
provide the relevant arguments in support of your
explanation.
(c) How does China’s restriction on REM exports create an
environment for inward foreign direct investment (FDI)? What is the
relevant arguments using an appropriate FDI theory.
(a) What are consequences of China’s quota policy concerning REM exports on China’s domestic industrial sectors?
The consequences of China's quota policy concerning REM exports for China's domestic industrial sectors is that it gives them a competitive advantage as compared to their international competitors. They have access to REM in almost unlimited quantity while the competitors in the world are starved of REMs given China's almost absolute market share and its quota policy. This results in a cost advantage too as the foreign competitors are able to buy the REMs they need at very high prices only.
(b) how China’s policy of restricting REM exports can be considered as a sophisticated application of strategic trade policy? what is the underlying objective behind strategic trade policy in order to provide the relevant arguments in support of your explanation.
Since China's policy of restricting REMs gives its domestic producers a competitive advantage, as explained in part A, it is an application of strategic trade policy since the policy is not really aimed at reducing environmental hazards etc but rather to give the domestic players an advantage. This is the underlying objective behind the policy.
(c) How does China’s restriction on REM exports create an environment for inward foreign direct investment (FDI)? What is the relevant arguments using an appropriate FDI theory.
Out of the many FDI related theories, 2 explain the the positive environment for FDI that this Chinese policy creates. These are-
Rare earth metals (REM) are a set of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table and...
Question #1* Which groups benefited the most from China imposing export quota on rear earth metals? Did it give the Chinese domestic manufacturers a significant cost advantage? Did it result in dramatically increased quality and environmental standards? Question #2* Given that 97% of rare earth metal production is now done in China, an increase from 27% to 97% between 1990 and 2010, Do you think Countries sucn as Australia, Canada, and the United States should reconsider their environmental restrictions on...
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