Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said China has agreed to lift restrictions on lobster imports by the end of the year, removing one of the last trade barriers imposed by Beijing during a period of tension between the nations.
The rock lobster trade would resume “in time for Chinese New Year,” Albanese said after a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Laos yesterday, referring to the Lunar New Year that is to fall in late January.
RELATIONSHIP
Photo: AP
“We have continued to stabilize the relationship without compromising on any of Australia’s national interests,” Albanese said at a news conference.
“With our patient, calibrated and deliberate approach, we’ve restored Australian trade with our largest export market,” he said.
A restoration of the lobster trade between Australia and China would effectively signal the end of more than four years of economic tensions between the two governments. Beijing imposed curbs on a range of Australian products including barley, wine, coal and seafood following calls by then-Australian prime minister Scott Morrison in 2020 for an international investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
PRODUCTION
In 2018 and 2019, China was the destination for more than 90 percent of Australia’s A$750 million (US$505 million at the current exchange rate) in rock lobster exports, but that fell to about 2 percent by 2022. For last year and this year, Australia’s lobster production is expected to be worth about A$400 million.
If the lobster restrictions are lifted, the only remaining trade bans would be on two small Australian meat works, which contribute a relatively minor amount to trade between the two countries.
Barley tariffs were removed by the Chinese government in August last year, while wine restrictions were removed in March.
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