China announced tariffs of up to 212% on Australian wine, contending the country uses subsidies to bolster its exports. The move is the latest instance of a decline in Sino-Australian relations, and Simon Birmingham, Australian Trade Minister, said they would amount to a “devastating blow” for Australian business as china accounts for 42% of Australian wine exports.
Australia is also preparing to take action against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over tariffs on barley imports.
China in May placed tariffs of 80.5% on Australian barley, saying it was being sold at unfairly low prices with the help of subsidies. Australia rejected that finding and directly appealed to Chinese authorities to reverse the duties but was rebuffed. “So now the WTO appeal for barley is the next step,” Birmingham said Sunday. The government is holding talks with the local grains industry and other sectors to gauge support for filing a complaint, he added.
The rising tensions have resulted in some benefits to the U.S., but surprisingly no U.S. barley exports have taken place thus far even though the Phase One agreement also resulted in a China-U.S. accord on barley.