Australian wine industry braced for Chinese tariff

Australia’s wine industry is reeling after talk China would ban imports and potentially slap it with an interim tariff.

Australian wine exporters are hoping shipments bound for China would not be forced to return home following word China was to ban imports.

AUSTRALIA’S wine industry is bracing for China to slug it with interim tariffs next week as part an anti-dumping probe that could derail the sector’s $1.2 billion export market.

The threat of new tariffs looms amid rumours Australian wine would not be cleared by Chinese customs officers as of Friday last week.

While Chinese officials have denied a ban on Australian wine as anything but talk, Chinese state media reported a $6 billion ban on seven key Australian products including wine and barley was imminent.

Australia Grape and Wine chief executive Tony Battaglene said on Monday he couldn’t confirm yet whether Australian wine was already stuck at Chinese ports, but said many within the industry held grave concerns.

China launched two investigations into Australian wine earlier this year; one into whether it was being dumped at discount prices and the second to examine how heavily the industry was subsidised by federal and state governments.

Mr Battaglene said if an interim tariff was to be introduced, as it was when China put the microscope on Australian barley, it would most likely come into effect next week, one month after the Chinese Government requested a 86-part questionnaires from a handful of Australian wine producers.

Taylors Wines managing director Mitchell Taylor said his family’s business had four containers headed for China he feared may be turned home with about $350,000 worth of stock on board.

He said if China imposed a substantial tariff, it would hit the industry hard. “We’re very concerned, we’re having crisis meetings about it. There’s not a lot of optimism,” he said.

Mr Taylor, who sits on the Wine Australia board and chairs its marketing committee, said one of their Chinese importers had stuck by them, while another had cancelled all orders until further notice.

“We’re hoping if there is a duty it will be on the low side so we could still trade but if its 100 per cent or higher that will stop the majority of the industry,” He said.