Australia has lodged a formal complaint with the World Trade Organisation over heavy Tariffs imposed by China on barley exports.
Making the announcement in Canberra on Wednesday (16 December 2020), Trade Minister Birmingham acknowledged that going to the WTO was not the perfect approach and would take a long time, but it was the right path for Australia to take at this time.
Beijing claims Australian barley production is heavily subsidised by the government and has imposed anti-dumping and countervailing duties of 80.5 per cent on its barley exports since May.
The tariffs are expected to cost Australian farmers $300 million a year.
Trade Minister Birmingham said China’s reasons for imposing high tariffs were unsubstantiated and not supported by facts and evidence.
A day earlier, Australian Prime Minister Morrison warned he would file a complaint with the World Trade Organization over Chinese state media reports of import restrictions on Australian coal. China’s power plants have been ordered by officials to import coal from other countries, except Australia, without additional restrictions, the report said.
The restrictions on barley and coal imports into China are the latest in an escalating trade and diplomatic row between Beijing and Canberra. Canberra has previously banned Chinese telecommunications giant huawei from building Australia’s 5G mobile network and urged an independent investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak, which first appeared in The Chinese city of Wuhan. Since then, relations between the two countries have deteriorated.
In addition to the high levy on barley, China has suspended imports of Australian beef and launched two investigations into imports of booming Australian wine. Last year, they were worth more than $790 million. Beijing has also advised citizens and students not to travel or study in Australia, citing racial discrimination.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner, with two-way trade reaching $170 billion last year.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Wednesday the Australian government should take China’s concerns seriously and take concrete actions to correct discrimination against Chinese companies.
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