From the NY Times:
Sharply raising the stakes in a dispute over Japan’s detention of a Chinese fishing trawler captain, the Chinese government has blocked exports to Japan of a crucial category of minerals used in products like hybrid cars, wind turbines and guided missiles.
Chinese customs officials are halting shipments to Japan of so-called rare earth elements, preventing them from being loaded aboard ships this week at Chinese ports, three industry officials said Thursday....
Any publication of government regulations or other official pronouncements barring exports would allow Japan to file an immediate complaint with the World Trade Organization, claiming a violation of free trade rules. But an administrative halt to exports, by preventing the loading of rare earths on ships bound for Japan, is much harder to challenge at the W.T.O.
I wonder why they say it is much harder to challenge an administrative halt. Is it just because of the difficulty in gathering evidence? It seems to me that if it's clear that the shipments are being halted, a WTO claim wouldn't be that difficult. At the very least, Japan could request consultations in order to discuss the issue and perhaps find out more about what's going on.
