The World Trade Organization on August 7, 2014, confirmed its ruling that China had violated global trade rules by restricting exports of rare earths, used in hi-tech goods like mobile phones and televisions. Beijing had appealed a decision by a WTO panel in March that its use of export duties, quotas and control over who could export the metals had skewed global commerce. That panel of independent trade and legal experts backed a complaint lodged with the WTO by the United States, the European Union and Japan in 2012. They claim China was limiting exports in a bid to drive up prices and gain market advantage for domestic producers with cheaper access to the raw materials. China accounts for 95 percent of global production of rare earths.