China delays decision on lifting Australian barley tariff
Beijing has been granted an extension to its review of the heavy tariffs it imposed on Australian barley in 2020.
The Albanese government has granted China’s request for an extra month to decide if it will lift punitive tariffs it has placed against the importation of Australian barley.
Beijing announced an expedited three-month review on April 11 of the 80.5 per cent tariff it imposed on the commodity in 2020, during the peak of political tensions between the two nations.
In return, Canberra suspended its World Trade Organisation appeal against the sanctions.
A spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong confirmed that while the extension had been granted, the government would resume the dispute with the trade umpire if China failed to lift the duties at the end of the four-month period.
“While we are disappointed China’s review could not be completed within the initial three months – we remain hopeful the impediments will be lifted in the near future,” she said.
“In April, Ms Wong and (Trade Minister) Don Farrell announced Australia had agreed to temporarily suspend the WTO case for an agreed three-month period, with a possible fourth month if required.
“China has now requested this one-month extension, which we have agreed to.”
However, she said the government “has been clear in our view” that the duties on barley were unjustified and that it is in “both countries’ best interest for all trade impediments to be removed.”
Speculation was rife in April that China only announced a snap review of the barley tariff to avoid an adverse WTO ruling.
It is understood that the WTO review was near to be handed down in April but has been held in abeyance for 90 days and will not need to be restarted.
The WTO trade disputes system encourages bilateral resolution where possible.
The government has previously said that it hopes that the lifting of tariffs against barley will trigger a domino effect in erasing trade sanctions on other Australian commodities that effectively crippled around $20 billion of exports, particularly wine.
Australia has resumed exporting timber, some fruit and coal into China in recent months as tensions ease and diplomacy increases between Beijing and Canberra.
China justified the tariff on the grounds that barley from Australia was being ‘dumped’ and subsidised, or being sold into the China market at a lower rate than its price in Australia.
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