Ministry 'ready' to face rare earth push

WTO ruling is likely to unleash global calls to loosen export curbs

BEIJING - China is "ready" to deal with increasing pressure from developed nations to loosen export restrictions on rare earths after the failure of an appeal against a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling, a Ministry of Commerce official said on Tuesday.

"We are ready for it," Yu Fang, deputy director of the department of treaty and law under the ministry, told China Daily.