WRAPUP -US, EU seek WTO panel on China export restraints

* China curbs blamed for boosting global prices * Panel request after consultations with China failed * WTO case was first initiated by Obama administration By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The United States, the European Union and Mexico asked the World Trade Organization on Wednesday to settle a dispute with China over export restrictions on raw materials used to make steel, aluminum and chemical products. The three trade partners charge that China's export curbs drive up world prices for the materials, giving Chinese companies an unfair advantage over foreign competitors. "China's restrictions on raw materials continue to distort competition and increase global prices, making conditions for our companies even more difficult in this economic climate," EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton said in a statement. The request for a WTO dispute settlement panel came after consultations with China failed to resolve the spat. It also follows trade talks last week between the United States and China, in which Beijing agreed to reopen its market to imports of U.S. pork and to give American companies more opportunity to compete in its clean energy market. President Barack Obama will visit China for the first time on Nov. 15-18 for talks expected to focus on foreign policy and economic concerns. Washington needs China's help to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program and to avoid another global financial crisis by putting the world on a path to more balanced and sustainable economic growth. Many strains remain in the U.S.-China trade relationship, as a number of American companies press for import duties against Chinese competitors to offset alleged unfair pricing and government subsidies. China has amassed some $800 billion of Treasury bonds, making it the largest holder of U.S. debt. That gives Beijing leverage over Washington, but also makes the health of the two economies more closely intertwined. QUOTAS AND DUTIES The raw materials case affects billions of dollars of global trade, U.S. officials said. China imposes quotas on exports of bauxite, coke, fluorspar, silicon carbide and zinc, as well as certain intermediate products incorporating some of these, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said. It also imposes export duties on several raw materials and imposes other restrictions through its export procedures. Other materials at issue in the case are magnesium, manganese, silicon metal and yellow phosphorus -- key inputs in the steel, aluminum and chemical industries across the globe. WTO rules generally prohibit export restrictions other than taxes, duties and charges, U.S. officials said. Beijing agreed when it joined the WTO to eliminate export duties for all but a specified list of products and to limit any export duties on those goods to certain levels. It has not lived up that, U.S. officials said. "We remain open to working with China to find a mutually agreeable solution to our concerns," said Debbie Mesloh, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative. But "at this point ... we need to move forward with the next step in the WTO dispute settlement process." The United States and the EU requested formal consultations with China in June after more than two years of urging it to lift its export restrictions, U.S. officials said. Mexico joined the case in August on the side of the United States and the EU. (Additional reporting by Bate Felix in Brussels, Editing by Chris Wilson)