Govt still needs hand in rare earths

China has often come under attack for limiting exports of rare earths. Such allegations have sparked discussions both within China and abroad of whether the government should just cancel its export quotas of the rare earth minerals - especially since the quotas were not used up last year, nor are they expected to be completely utilized this year.

The time may not be right, however, for Chinese leaders to abolish limitations on rare earth exports just yet. China has long been the world's major supplier of rare earth products and has been offering the global market these resources at a low cost for years. Overexploitation of rare earths though has taken a heavy toll on China's environment. If the government steps out of the rare earth industry and abolishes export quotas, the problems caused by overexploitation will become more serious in the future as the demand for these minerals is expected to rebound soon with the recovery of the global economy.

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