The Second Round of Chinese Rare-Earth Export-Quota Allocations for 2014

Earlier this week the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced the second round of allocations of rare-earth export quotas for 2014, to companies operating in China. This follows the initial announcement on the first allocation for 2014, which was made in December 2013.

A total of 15,501 t of export quotas was allocated in this second round, comprising 13,692 t of light rare-earth (LRE) products and 1,809 t of medium / heavy rare-earth (M / HRE) products. This brings the total allocations for 2014 to 30,611 t, which is similar to the totals for the past four years.

We can now take a look at the specific allocation numbers associated with this week’s announcement, before reviewing allocations over the past few years. The companies below, highlighted in green are Chinese / non-Chinese joint-venture (JV) companies – the rest are Chinese-owned. The list is sorted from highest-to-lowest total allocation:

* Part of Solvay, which was allocated a total of 1,736 t.
** Part of China Minmetals Group, which was allocated a total of 781 t.
*** Part of Molycorp, which was allocated a total of 1,173 t.
**** Part of Baogang Group, which was allocated a total of 1,303 t.

Here is a comparison of the quota allocations for the past six years:

In 2014, the proportion of M/HRE to total allocations was 11.8%. This compares to 11.7% for 2013 and 12.5% for 2012, the first year that the quotas were split in this way.

There is once again no reflection in the quota allocations, or in the system as a whole, of the findings of the recent WTO case against China concerning export quotas and tariffs. The WTO ruled that the export-control system for rare earths (and other metals) is at odds with the trade rules of the WTO. The case in the latter stages of the appeals process.