On 13 March 2012, the United States requested consultations with China with respect to China’s restrictions on the export of various forms of rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum.

The Panel concluded that the export quotas were not justified under the exception in GATT Art. XX(g), which allows WTO Members to implement GATT-inconsistent measures “relating to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources”. China did not appeal the panel's overall finding, but appealed limited aspects of the panel's interpretation and application of Art. XX(g), in connection with its findings that the export quotas at issue were not measures “relating to” the conservation of exhaustible natural resources, and were not “made effective in conjunction with” restrictions on domestic production or consumption. The Appellate Body found that the panel rightly considered that it should focus on the measures' design and structure rather than on their effects in the marketplace, although it was not precluded from considering market effects. The Appellate Body further concluded that the burden of conservation did not have to be evenly distributed, for example, between foreign consumers, on the one hand, and domestic producers or consumers, on the other hand.

Based on: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/1pagesum_e/ds431sum_e.pdf

https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds431_e.htm