Wine tariffs battle between China and Australia heads to the WTO
Australia will take China to the World Trade Organisation over Beijing’s imposition of crippling tariffs on Australian wine exports in the latest sign of worsening tensions between the two nations.
Australia will take China to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over crippling tariffs on our wine exports because of the “serious harm” to the industry in the latest sign of worsening tensions between the two nations.
The decision “to defend the interests of Australia’s winemakers” over the trade-ending tariffs of up to 220 per cent comes six months after Australia lodged a separate WTO protest over Beijing’s decision to slap tariffs on Australian barley.
Trade Minister Dan Tehan on Saturday said the commonwealth remained open to engaging directly with China to resolve the issue but had been left with no option. “The Australian government continues to want a very constructive engagement when it comes to dealing with China.
“We would love to be able to sit down and be able to resolve these disputes. But, while we’re not in that position to do so, we will use every other mechanism to try and resolve this dispute and other disputes that we have with the Chinese government.”
It is the latest incident in an escalating tussle between Australia and its largest trading partner, and follows warnings by Scott Morrison that his government would move to withstand any nation trying to use “economic coercion” against it.
In November, China slapped tariffs of up to 218 per cent on Australian wines after it accused Aussie winemakers of “dumping” their product into the Chinese market at subsidised prices.
The move crippled what had been our biggest market, with sales of Australian wine plunging from $1.1bn to just $20m.
“The actions taken by the Chinese government have caused serious harm to the Australian wine industry,” Mr Tehan said.
He acknowledged the dispute process at the WTO would likely be a protracted one, declaring it could take two to four years for any resolution. Beijing has imposed tough economic sanctions on a range of Australian products in recent months, including barley, lobsters, coal and wine. The measures are widely seen in Australia as retaliation for Canberra’s move to ban Huawei from the 5G rollout in 2018 and its pushing for an inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.
The announcement comes a week after G7 leaders delivered two pointed messages to Beijing at a summit in Cornwall, announcing a global infrastructure plan to rival China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative and the World Health Organisation demanding more transparency over the origin of the coronavirus.
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