On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that Australia and China had resolved their barley import issue, further boosting economic relations.
Australia filed a WTO case in 2020 after China’s 80.5% barley tariffs nearly eliminated imports by the world’s largest beer market.
Before that, they were between A$1.5 billion ($1 billion) and A$2 billion.
Wong said Australia would delay the WTO complaint while China reviews grain duties.
She told a press conference that China has agreed to an accelerated assessment of Australian barley taxes over three months, which might be extended to four.
“In exchange, we will temporarily halt the WTO dispute for the review period.”
She said the administration expects a similar outcome in a second wine tariff issue.
Grain Producers Australia praised the action, which might accelerate barley commerce.
“This procedure to obtain a settlement would be substantially shorter than if the WTO process proceeded,” stated Chairman Barry Large.
China’s Ministry of Commerce declined to comment.
China’s anti-dumping and countervailing penalties drove customers to Canada, France, and other markets, one of the numerous causes of tension between the two nations.
At the start of the year, barley prices have declined partially on optimism that Australia will resume imports.
“Everyone is waiting for Australian barley,” said Malteurop China general manager Yang Zhenglong.
He noted that resuming commerce in a few months would allow Australia’s fresh barley crop, harvested in October, to reach China by year’s end. Most Chinese maltsters currently have ample supply for this year.
Since Australia’s center-left Labor Party took power last year, relations have warmed. In December, Wong visited Wang Yi in Beijing, the first Australian minister to do so since 2019.
On Monday, China announced that vice foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu would visit Australia and Fiji for “political discussions.”
Comment Template