Australia is to take China before the WTO over Beijing’s imposition of crippling tariffs on Australian wine exports, it announced yesterday, in the latest sign of worsening tensions between the two countries.
The decision “to defend Australia’s winemakers” comes six months after Australia lodged a separate protest at the WTO over tariffs on Australian barley and is in line with the government’s “support for the rules-based trading system,” it said in a statement.
However, it added that “Australia remains open to engaging directly with China to resolve this issue.”
It is the latest incident in an escalating tussle between Australia and its largest trading partner, and follows warnings by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison that his government would respond forcefully to countries trying to use “economic coercion” against it.
China in November last year slapped tariffs of up to 218 percent on Australian wines, which it said were being “dumped” on the Chinese market at subsidized prices.
The crackdown virtually closed what had been Australia’s biggest overseas wine market, with sales falling from A$1.1 billion (US$822.9 million) to just A$20 million, official figures showed.
“The actions taken by the Chinese government have caused serious harm to the Australian wine industry,” Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Tehan told a news conference announcing the decision to lodge a formal dispute with the WTO.
“We would love to be able to sit down and be able to resolve these disputes” directly with the Chinese, he said.
However, lower-level official contacts had failed to make progress, he added.
“We will use every other mechanism to try and resolve this dispute and other disputes that we have with the Chinese government,” he said.
Tehan said the dispute process within the WTO was difficult and estimated that it would take two to four years to resolve the matter.
Beijing has imposed tough economic sanctions on a range of Australian products in the past few months, ranging from high tariffs to disruptive practices across several agricultural sectors, coal, wine and tourism.
The measures are widely seen in Australia as punishment for pushing back against Beijing’s operations to impose influence in Australia, rejecting Chinese investment in sensitive areas and publicly calling for an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yesterday’s move came just a week after a G7 summit echoed Australia’s call for a tougher stand against China’s trade practices and its more assertive stance globally.
The G7 summit ended on Saturday last week with the announcement of US-led plans to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the hallmark of its efforts to extend economic influence around the world.
BUSY DAY: The same day the USS ‘Barry’ passed through the Strait, Taiwan was ending its Han Kuang military exercises, while China said it conducted an exercise near Taiwan A US Navy ship on Friday sailed through the Taiwan Strait, marking the ninth time a US military vessel has transited the Strait since US President Joe Biden took office in January. The USS Barry, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, conducted a “routine” transit through the Strait, the US Navy said in a statement, adding that the journey through international waters was conducted “in accordance with international law.” “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the US Navy said. “The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows.” The Ministry
FRUIT SPAT: The COA said China had not given evidence for halting wax and custard apple imports, adding that it would spend NT$1bn on promoting sales of the fruit Taipei threatened to take China to the WTO yesterday after Beijing said it would suspend wax apple and custard apple imports from Taiwan due to pest concerns. China’s customs administration earlier yesterday said it had repeatedly found pests called Planococcus minor, a type of mealybug, on wax and custard apples from Taiwan. It asked its Guangdong branch and all affiliated offices to stop clearing the products from today. China had acted unilaterally, without providing scientific evidence, Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) told a news conference, criticizing the announcement’s timing, as it came during the Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated in Taiwan
ON ALERT: A woman who tested positive for COVID-19 while abroad last year tested negative twice in Taiwan before showing a positive result on Sunday, the center said The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported two locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, four imported cases and no deaths. The CECC meanwhile warned nearly 500 people to monitor their health after a woman tested postive. The center also reported that a previous local case — a female worker at Taoyuan International Airport Services (桃園航勤), who had the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 — likely contracted the disease from the same source as a previous imported case from Turkey. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the two local cases were reported in Taipei, and are a
CLOSED DOORS? The new US rules, which are to be implemented in November, have sparked concern in Taiwan, given its low fully vaccinated coverage rate The US plans to allow entry to most foreign air travelers as long as they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 — while adding a testing requirement for unvaccinated Americans and barring entry for foreigners who have not received shots. The measures announced on Monday by the White House mark the most sweeping change to US travel policies in months, and widen the gap in rules between vaccinated people — who would see restrictions relaxed — and unvaccinated people. The new rules would replace existing bans on foreigners’ travel to the US from certain regions, including Europe. While the move would open the
RSS