ANNOUNCEMENT 18 Oct 2011
In October 2011, the government of China announced a change in export taxation.NUMBER OF INTERVENTIONS
1
SOURCE
Financial Times. (2011). Largest rare earths producer halts output. Available at http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/eb817dd6-f976-11e0-bf8f-00144feab49a.html#axzz1bOOCjvXn
Financial Times. (2011). China tries to reignite rare earths demand. Available at http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4bc76c56-f403-11e0-b221-00144feab49a.html#axzz1bOOCjvXn
MoneyControl. (2011). China tries to reignite demand for rare earths. Available at http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/world-news/china-tries-to-reignite-demand-for-rare-earths_603708.html
Rare Metal Blog. (2011). China Tries to Reignite Demand for Rare Earths. Available at http://www.raremetalblog.com/2011/10/china-tries-to-reignite-demand-for-rare-earths.html
Reuters. (2011). Russia not ready to cover China rare earths gap. Available at http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/21/us-russa-rare-earths-idUSTRE79K1OO20111021
Wall Street Journal. (2011). China Baotou to Halt Rare Earth Operations for One Month. Available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204346104576638333415825762.html
In October 2011, numerous and consistent press articles reported on two incidences of potential price manipulation of the price of Chinese rare earths exports.
On 18 October 2011, the largest Chinese rare earth mining company Baotou announced a halt to its production. The company said it would pause production for a month "balancing supply and demand." Baotou's share in Chinese rare earth extraction is estimated to lie around 40 percent.
A second string of press reports hints at the informal enforcement of "minimum export prices" through the Chinese customs authorities. Apparently, export contracts had to be rewritten in order to qualify for international shipment.