美国将向世贸组织提起中国稀土问题诉讼

Officials with the Obama administration say the United States will file a new trade case against China over its limits on exports of so-called "rare earth" minerals. The officials say President Barack Obama will announce Tuesday that the U.S., along with the European Union and Japan, will file the case at the World Trade Organization. China is the world's main exporter of rare earths -- 17 minerals used in making many high-tech products including flat screen televisions, hybrid car batteries and wind turbines.

China says it has restricted the exports in recent years in order to meet its own domestic manufacturing needs, and to ease the environmental impact from excessive mining. But Patrick Chovanec, a professor at Beijing's Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, tells VOA that the WTO has already ruled against China in a similar case. Washington says the restrictions give Chinese companies an unfair advantage by increasing production costs for foreign firms, and Chovanec suggests Beijing is trying to force high-tech manufacturers to relocate their operations to China.美国政府官员说，美国将就中国限制出口稀土矿物提出新的贸易诉讼。有关官员说，奥巴马总统星期二将宣布，美国将和欧盟、日本一起向世界贸易组织提起诉讼。中国是世界的主要稀土出口国。稀土包括17种矿物，用于制造许多高科技产品，包括平板电视、混合动力汽车电池和风力涡轮机。

中国表示，近几年限制稀土出口是为了满足中国国内的制造业需求，以及减轻过度采矿对环境的影响。但清华大学经济管理学院教授程致宇(Patrick Chovanec)对美国之音表示，世贸组织在一桩类似的案子里已经作出了对中国不利的裁决。美国政府说，这项政策增加了美国企业的成本，使中国公司获得不公平的优势。程致宇认为，中国正试图迫使高科技制造业将企业迁往中国。