Rare-earth minerals are critical inputs in the manufacture of high-tech products ranging from computers/iPhones, hybrid cars and on to missles. More than 95 percent of the world's rare-earths are produced in China. China in turn has instituted rigid export quotas, extensive taxes and export fees that have contributed to significant price surges of rare-earths in recent years.
Acting in tandem with the European Union and Japan the president announced last week in Washington, "If China would simply let the market work on its own, we'd have no objections. But their policies currently are preventing that from happening..."
Ironically the president's concerns about the workings of the market came almost in lockstep with a moment of vacuous hypocrisy, when the world's top oil producers, preparing to meet in Kuwait, voiced concern that high oil prices could jeopardize a global economic recovery, as though Kuwait, seat of one of the leading OPEC practioners, and its fellow cabal adherents, could not have done much, much more to prevent oil prices from reaching their current extortionist levels. To make the markets more nervous yet, after extensive assurances that they stood ready to fill any gap caused by the Iranian oil embargo, the Saudis took the occasion to begin backtracking on their solidarity with oil embargo policies toward Iran, when Saudi officialdom announced their reluctance to stay the course:
"We don't want to replace Iranian oil and we never said we wanted to. We will step in and fill any gap if needed." He probably should have added, "If prices remain high enough."
So on it goes. OPEC continues to practice its restraint of trade scot-free, with nary a word of condemnation given the influence of oil interests, the commodity exchanges, and our incredibly oblivious courts extending 'sovereign immunity' to OPEC's national oil companies permitting them to collude shamelessly, ratcheting up oil prices to the enormous benefit of the oil companies who are reporting record-breaking profits, at the staggering cost to the public at large in the price of gasoline, diesel and heating oil while placing the health of the economy in danger.
Given President Obama's sudden concern for letting the "market work on its own" perhaps it's time that one revisits the efforts made during the Bush administration to pass NOPEC legislation which would have permitted the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to sue OPEC under U.S. anti-trust laws. In 2007 the Senate (70-23) and the House (345-72) voted overwhelmingly for the NOPEC law permitting legal action against the national oil companies of the oil cartel. Not generally understood is OPEC's ability to operate outside the law hiding behind our sovereign immunity shield in a way that the oil companies and oil interests have benefitted in the billions if not trillions over the years. (please see "Oil: a Defining Moment for Our Political Class and the Press").
Were one to judge the merits of the bill by its detractors one needed only to have looked as far as the American Petroleum Institute, the trade association of the oil industry, and such Washington beltway think tanks as the Energy Policy Research Foundation whose director at the time, was quoted as saying, "Our friends in the Middle East understand we are just venting steam." Most significantly was then President George W. Bush's clear threat, given his ties to the oil industry and Saudi interests, to veto the legislation should it have landed on his desk.
But that was then and now is now. In the near four years of President Obama's administration virtually nothing has been done to slow or reverse the steep escalation of oil, and in turn gasoline prices. Almost from the inception of his administration the price of oil ballooned from $33/barrel in February 2009 to over $105/bbl today. Certainly refocusing government's attention on a NOPEC law might have helped enormously to restrain prices. Given the government's silence on this issue, its general lack of initiative on matters directly impacting oil prices, be it OPEC or commodity speculation, one begins to wonder if on the issues of oil and its price, whether President Obama has become an acolyte of President George W. Bush.
If restraint of trade in matters relating to China's control and manipulation of the rare-earths market is of current and pressing concern, then focus on the OPEC oil cartel and its impact on the price of oil and gasoline, on our economy and national security is long past due, certainly and at the very least by the number of years that this administration has been in office. It is well past time that our government acts on behalf of the national interest rather the moneyed influence of the oil companies and their allies.
Follow Raymond J. Learsy on Twitter: www.twitter.com/raymondLearsy
China achieved its near monopoly position in rare earths by undercutting other producers and driving them out of business. China is not our friend.
A major contributor to the current oil price is Wall Street's involvement in the commodity futures market. It was intended for use (and used to be used) by producers and consumers of the commodities to smooth the gaps between production and demand. The regulators decided it would be OK for WS to play in this market. Like everything else WS touches ,it has been turned into a mechanism for sucking wealth form those who produce it into the hands of greedy banksters who produce absolutely nothing of any value.
If anybody in Washington gave a damn about oil prices ( as well as those of most other commodities) the most effective thing they could do is to give WS 90 days to get their filthy hands out of the commodity markets.
Matt Taibbi's book "Griftopia" will open the eyes of any who care to discover just how and how badly WS has screwed the world.
Western hypocrisy in full bloom - Columnist - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/western-hypocrisy-in-full-bloom-1.61401#ixzz1pM2p9RnI
This week, the US, European Union and Japan have brought the matter up to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and accused China of unfair trading practices.
That the Chinese are apprehensive about the move is hardly a surprise, for it marks a significant shift in the tone and tenor of its trade relations with other developed nations. That the Chinese may be somewhat annoyed by all this talk of unfair trading practices is also understandable if we were to look at how the concept of fair trade has been applied to China over the past two centuries.
In the 19th century, "free trade" meant that China was forced to open its markets to the import of opium, which led to widespread opium addiction among the population, debilitating its economy and people, and was the catalyst to the so-called "opium wars" of the 19th century.
We need to bring manufacturing back to the United States of America and both parties are ignoring tariffs as a way to level the playing field, raise money and bring jobs back home. Let's guess why. Oh that's right, tariff is a dirty word. Hum, maybe it’s that our so called leaders (political leaders) are beholden to the same people who are exporting our jobs.
I guess we should keep letting Corp Boards, Wall Street and CEOs promote sending US jobs to countries where they work for slave wages, no benefits, no OSHA safety standards or no real environment regulations. How's that been working for us?
We may have to pay a bit more for products made here in the USA by US citizens, but at least we'll still have jobs and a future for our children.
The bottom line is that “Our Government” has to protect American industry and the jobs that those industries provide. If they do that, the rest will take care of itself.
So please, gimme a break on America's supposed free trade crap (And Europe's no better).
Now that is the bullseye, the essence of many such problems!
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2012/03/fighting-terrorism-for-200-years-2.html
What about the exceptional American leadership? We make opportunity for private ownership and control while outsourcing our competence and control of our own destiny. Our leaders our traitors to our constitution and membership as oligarchy pervades every human function.
We need to add tariffs that are proportionate to the inequities in wages and regulations in the country where the goods were produced and or where we’re importing them from. We could then use the money raised by these tariffs to help companies build state of the art manufacturing plants here in the USA, which would create more jobs here at home for US citizens, which would then in turn increase our income tax revenue.