China Customs has issued a notice saying that it has decided to suspend the import of Australian logs due to the discovery of harmful organisms in the imported Australian logs.
This is the latest action taken by the Chinese side to extend the suspension of the import of Australian timber. Previously, the Chinese General Administration of Customs announced the suspension of log imports from the Australian states of Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia on Oct. 31, Nov. 11 and Dec. 3, 2020, based on similar reasons.
China’s General Administration of Customs issued a notice on its WeChat public number on Thursday (Dec. 24) saying, “Recently, Tianjin, Nanjing, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Huangpu Customs have again intercepted live forest pests in logs imported from New South Wales and Western Australia, Australia.”
The notice said, “In order to prevent the introduction of pests, to protect China’s agricultural and forestry production and ecological security,” according to the relevant provisions, decided to suspend the import of logs from New South Wales, Western Australia, Australia, the relevant situation has been notified to the Australian authorities.
Australia’s relationship with China is currently at its lowest stage. 5G issues, new crown virus source investigation issues, and Australia’s countermeasures against China’s infiltration issues have caused China to retaliate across the board. Australia’s commodity trade to China and a number of other bilateral economic activities have been almost completely blocked by China, with exports of barley, wine, seafood, timber, coal, sugar, beef and cotton all being stopped by the Chinese side, and Chinese tourists and international students being discouraged from travelling to Australia by the authorities.
Many ships carrying Australian lobster and coal were denied entry to Chinese ports and were forced to drift in nearby waters for months, leading to chaos in Australia’s trade with China.
Many parts of China are experiencing coal shortages following the cessation of imports of Australian coal. In the middle of winter, more than half of China’s provinces and cities are experiencing power shortages due to coal shortages, and power cuts are rampant across the country.
Sources say Chinese customs have begun to allow clearance for ships carrying Australian coal that are stranded at sea due to pressure.
The Australian government launched a WTO case in the middle of this month against China for imposing high tariffs on Australian barley. Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said this month that the Australian government would consider other measures if a reasonable solution could not be reached.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation quoted Birmingham as saying, “We’ve seen China take a number of different actions over the past year, each using different criteria, affecting the measures we’ve taken at the WTO.”
Birmingham said that under China’s system, state-owned enterprises have a dominant position and the government discourages them from sourcing Australian goods. And to prove that, Birmingham said, “is very uncomplicated.”
No response has been seen from the Australian government as to whether the pest problem, China’s reason for extending its imports of Australian timber again, is real.
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