AFP - The United States accused China Tuesday of pursuing a "troubling" industrial policy as it launched WTO action with the European Union against the Asian giant for restricting raw materials exports.
  
The two Western powers requested World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement consultations with China regarding Beijing’s export restraints on numerous important raw materials.
  
"China’s measures appear to be part of a troubling industrial policy aimed at providing substantial competitive advantages for the Chinese industries using these inputs," US Trade Representative Ron Kirk told reporters in Washington.
  
The materials at issue were bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, yellow phosphorus, and zinc -- key inputs for numerous downstream products in the steel, aluminum, and chemical sectors across the globe.
  
China is top global producer of these materials.
  
"We are going to the WTO today to enforce our rights, so we can provide American manufacturers with a fair competitive environment and put more American workers back on the job," Kirk said.
  
"China is a leading global producer and exporter of the raw materials in question, and access to these materials is critical for US industrial manufacturers."
  
He added that the United States "is very concerned that China appears to be restricting the exports of these materials for the benefit of their domestic industries, despite strong WTO rules designed to discipline export restraints."