Manzullo Hails WTO Ruling Against China’s Illegal Export Restraints on Raw Materials

Congressman Don Manzullo (R-IL) today hailed a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against China’s practice of placing restraints on US and other foreign companies that purchase certain raw materials from companies in China. 

The WTO ruled that China’s export restrictions on nine basic “building blocks” of manufacturing – bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon carbide, silicon metal, yellow phosphorus, and zinc – are a violation of international trade rules. These nine raw materials are widely used in the steel, aluminum, and chemical industries.

Manufacturers in northern Illinois that use steel, aluminum, and chemicals in their final product face higher prices and loss of business to China because of China’s export restraints on these raw materials. China’s export restraints include export quotas and export duties, as well as minimum export price, export licensing, and export quota administration requirements. Click here for more information from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on the WTO ruling.

Manzullo, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific and co-Chair and co-Founder of the House Manufacturing Caucus, has been working for many years to get China to play by the rules of fair trade and to level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers competing with Chinese companies. He sent a letter to USTR last fall urging them to pursue a case against China for its illegal export “tax” on rare earth minerals, which are vital to aerospace, electronics, automotive, and wind turbine manufacturing in the United States. Manzullo praised the WTO decision as another condemnation on China’s illegal trade activities.

“This ruling will force China to end its illegal export restrictions on raw materials that put American companies at a cost disadvantage and threaten American jobs,” Manzullo said. “This is an ongoing effort to crack down on China’s illegal trade practices, including currency manipulation, illegal subsidies, and lax enforcement of intellectual property protections, that harm American manufacturers and cost U.S. jobs. American workers can compete and win in the global marketplace as long as they are on a level playing field.  

“The WTO decision also sets the precedent to halt China’s other export restraints on rare earth minerals. And it underscores the need for the United States to develop more of its own resources so we no longer have to be reliant on the Chinese to provide our building blocks for manufacturing,” Manzullo added.

In the northern Illinois Congressional district Manzullo represents, there are more than 1,400 manufacturers that support more than 51,000 jobs, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. Manzullo continually hears from manufacturers in northern Illinois and throughout the country about their difficulties trying to compete on a level playing field with manufacturers in China