Rare earth trade fight goes to WTO

   The United States, Japan and European Union on Tuesday requested World Trade Organization consultations to settle an increasingly nasty dispute over China’s restrictions on exports of various rare earth metals, tungsten and molybdenum.
   These metals are used heavily in the electronics industry. China reportedly controls more than 95 percent of these metal inputs.
   China has arduously defended its export policy for rare earth metals, citing environmental concerns associated with mining and extraction.
   In China’s state-owned Xinhua news service, China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei reportedly warned his country is “actively preparing to defend ourselves.”