The call comes after China, which controls more than 95 percent of the global market in rare earths, froze exports to Japan in September amid a diplomatic row and reportedly also slowed shipments to other countries.

"All G20 leaders should work together to find pragmatic and sustainable short-term solutions for a stable and secure rare earth supply," the coalition of groups in the United States, Europe and Asia said in a statement.

"Further trade disputes cannot be in the interest of all G20 nations," said the joint statement by 37 groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce and Japan's Nippon Keidanren grouping of big corporations as well as federations from Germany and South Korea.

Rare earths, a group of 17 elements, are metals used in products ranging from flat-screen televisions, mobile phones, lasers and hybrid cars to military equipment such as missiles, jet engines and night-vision goggles.

The grouping urged members of the G20 to "refrain from export taxes, quotas and other market-distorting measures on rare earth elements that restrict global supply and unnecessarily contribute to price volatility".

It also urged the rich and developing nations meeting in Seoul to "renounce interference with commercial sale of rare earth elements, domestically or internationally, to advance industrial policy or political objectives."

China froze all exports of rare earths to Japan in late September, industry sources said, amid a tense row over Tokyo's arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain in disputed waters in the East China Sea earlier that month.

Since then there have been reports of shipments being interrupted to the United States and Europe, although some exports have resumed.

Beijing has repeatedly denied it has cut off exports of the crucial minerals and said it would not use its near-global monopoly on the rare earths trade as a "bargaining tool".

The statement, which was issued but not publicised last week, said: "Rare earth elements are essential to the clean energy, automotive, petroleum refining, chemical and electronics industries of today and tomorrow."

It warned of "a substantial and growing risk... that without adequate supply and open access to such elements, global efforts to address climate change, promote innovation, and advance global growth will be significantly hindered."

Other groups that signed the letter included the Business Roundtable -- which group CEOs of major US companies -- the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Business Europe, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Korean Industries.

earlier related report
China mulls stricter environmental controls on rare earths
Beijing (AFP) Nov 7, 2010 - China is considering tightening environmental standards for rare earth miners, in a move that may increase the price of exports of the vital minerals, state media reported Sunday.

The official Xinhua news agency cited Zhang Zhong, general manager of the nation's biggest rare earths firm, as saying the new regulation would increase the cost of production and "may raise the price of Chinese rare earth exports".

The report comes amid concerns in Japan and the United States that China, which controls more than 95 percent of the global market in rare earths -- used in high-tech products from iPods to missiles -- is clamping down on exports.

It quoted Yang Wanxi, a government advisor involved in drafting the regulation, as saying the new standards aimed to force firms to upgrade their production techniques.

Yang said experts had also suggested the government consider banning producers whose annual production capacity was less than 8,000 tonnes of mixed rare earth products, the report said.

China has cut rare earth exports by five to 10 percent a year since 2006 as demand and prices soar, in a measure it says is aimed at minimising the harmful environmental effects of mining for the minerals.

A spokesman for China's commerce ministry said last week that Beijing would further cut its export quotas for rare earth metals next year "but not by a very large margin".

But high-tech firms in Japan and the United States say China is deliberately withholding shipments of the minerals -- reportedly over a territorial row with Tokyo and a trade dispute with Washington.

Beijing has repeatedly denied this, and said last month that it would not use its near-global monopoly on the rare earths trade as a "bargaining tool".

earlier related report
China to spend 4.5bn dollars on domestic mineral exploration
Beijing (AFP) Nov 7, 2010 - China will spend 30 billion yuan (4.5 billion dollars) searching for domestic mineral deposits over the next five years in a bid to lessen its reliance on imported products, state media said Sunday.

The government will launch the exploration project in 21 provinces, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Wang Min, vice minister of land and resources, as saying.

Chinese scientists have already discovered more than 900 separate locations with mineral deposits over the past 12 years, the report said.

Five of these could hold five billion tonnes of iron ore, and up to 38.5 million tonnes of copper ore reserves have been discovered in three different areas of China.

"We believe China has great potential for mineral exploration" based on these discoveries, Wang was quoted as saying.

Over the next five years, China should import less than 75 percent of its copper consumption and less than 50 percent of its iron ore consumption, the report quoted Chen Renyi of the China Geological Survey as saying.

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