WorldTradeOrganization
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New Zealand used NSA data to spy on rival trade leader candidates
Want to understand why far-reaching, poorly scrutinized spying programs are dangerous? Here's why. The Intercept and the New Zealand Herald have obtained a document showing that New Zealand used the US National Security Agency's XKeyscore surveillance system to spy on other countries' candidates for the World Trade Organization's director general role. The 2013 snooping campaign searched for keywords in communications that referenced New Zealand's own candidate (Minister of Trade Tim Groser, above), the competition and the WTO itself. Any relevant results were passed on to a "trade team" within the country's surveillance agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau, which is rather alarming when the leadership run had nothing to do with national security.
WTO ruling revives debate over China's rare earths trade
China suffered another setback at the WTO yesterday, thanks to a ruling that could spell trouble for its controversial rare earths industry. In a decision issued Monday, a WTO panel determined that the Chinese government has been acting in violation of international trade rules, due to export restrictions on a number of raw materials. These restrictions, the panel said, allowed Beijing to inflate global market prices, while giving an advantage to domestic producers. As a result, China will likely have to adjust its trade policies to comply with WTO regulations. In a statement, the country's Ministry of Commerce said it "deeply regrets" the decision, but confirmed that the People's Republic will adhere to it. This week's ruling applies to materials like bauxite, coke, magnesium, manganese and zinc, but, most notably, does not apply to rare earths -- a group of 17 elements critical to the production of tablets, smartphones and myriad other gadgets. China has maintained a rather tight grip over the world's rare earths market, thanks to a slew of export controls, quotas and government-erected barriers to entry. The country has come under intense international pressure in recent years, with the US, EU and Mexico filing complaints with the WTO, arguing that China's price-inflating restrictions violate international trade agreements. Beijing, for its part, has long maintained that its export controls are designed to minimize the environmental impact of rare earth mining, while meeting the country's surging domestic demand. It's an argument that's come up a lot during this debate but one that the WTO, on Monday, deemed illegitimate, stating that China has thus far been "unable to demonstrate" the environmental benefits of its policies. The decision won't have any immediate bearing on these policies, but some observers are hopeful that it may be a sign of things to come. Michael Silver, CEO of rare earth processor American Elements, told Reuters that the ruling "confirms the existence of the two-tiered price structure that has caused so much concern," with EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht adding that the decision should force China to remove restrictions on both the aforementioned raw materials and rare earths, alike. Others, however, aren't so optimistic, pointing out that, with a full 95 percent of the rare earths market under its aegis, China could realistically afford to ignore any decisions handed down from the WTO in the future.
WTO says China's rare earths export controls violate international rules, US applauds
China's monopolistic approach to the rare earths market is in violation of international trade regulations, according to a new ruling from the WTO. The verdict, issued yesterday, covers exports of nine minerals -- including zinc, manganese and magnesium -- that are used to produce a wide variety of smartphones, tablets and other gadgets. China, which controls about 95-percent of the world's rare earth supply, had previously argued that its export restrictions were needed to prevent overproduction and to conserve natural resources, but the WTO determined that the country was "unable to demonstrate" these environmental benefits. The investigation was originally spurred 18 months ago, after the US and other countries complained that China's quotas and tariffs unfairly favored domestic manufacturers, while distorting global prices. Experts expect Beijing to appeal the ruling, but this extra international pressure, combined with shifting supply chains and newfound deposits, may bring about the changes many have been calling for. If it doesn't, we'll all be stuck with corn phones.
US files complaint with WTO over EU tariffs on high-tech products
Yeah, so Sony's hitting us with magically-thin OLED TVs, Microsoft is showing off Windows 7, and Google's demoing hot new Android phones, but nothing gets us going like an old-fashioned tariff agreement dispute based on the classification of certain types of goods, you know? That's just good clean fun. It's also what's going down between the US and the EU -- our charming government has just filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization, alleging that the EU is mis-classifying multifunction printers, flat-panel computer displays, and cable boxes that fall under the 1996 Information Technology Agreement in order to collect tariffs on their imports. Essentially all these products should be duty-free, but the EU says their additional functions require the ITA be re-negotiated to cover them -- LCD displays can also be used with DVD players, for example, and so qualify as "video monitors," which are taxed. Sure, it's a totally semantic fight, but that's what trade representatives live for -- we hear this one's going to be bigger than the 2006 Canadian Softwood Lumber Import showdown.[Via Physorg]
Virgin Mobile poised to launch MVNO in China
Interfax China is reporting that Virgin Mobile is close to signing a partnership with wireless carrier China Unicom that would make the UK-based company the first foreign MVNO in post-WTO China. Although Virgin would still require approval from the Chinese government, which carefully scrutinizes all proposed foreign business presences, the company will benefit from past deals in which Spain's Telefonica and Germany's Vodafone have made invesments in domestic telecom firms. Virgin already has offices in Shanghai, and CEO Richard Branson recently told reporters to expect a Chinese launch this fall, so it would seem pretty likely that this venture, which is well over a year in the making, has the necessary government support to proceed.
