China, Taiwan discussing rare-earths export deal

Beijing may lift some export quotas or lower tariffs on shipments of rare-earth materials to Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported. Hou Kuan-chuh, a consultant to Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, said that China has been receptive to a possible deal with Taiwan, which is vying for more investment from technology and petrochemical companies. Taiwanese companies buy much less rare-earths than those in Japan, Europe and the US. But increasing export levels might signal that China is becoming more flexible on its tight control of the metals, a policy that has drawn international criticism. China reduced its quotas on exports of rare-earth metals for the first half of this year by about 35% from a year earlier. The country controls about 95% of the world’s output of the minerals.