China-Australia relations: Beijing officially slaps import duties on Australian wine after concluding probe

Anti-dumping duties of between 116.2 per cent and 218.4 per cent will be imposed on Australian wines in containers of two litres or less

The duties – higher than temporary tariffs in November last year – will be applied for five years from Sunday

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China unofficially restricted several Australian imports including wine, barley and coal in November last year amid deteriorating relations between the two countries. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:55pm, 26 Mar 2021Updated: 7:45pm, 26 Mar 2021

China has officially slapped duties of between 116.2 per cent and 218.4 per cent on Australian wines in containers of up to two litres after concluding anti-dumping investigations on Friday.

The decision is a blow to the Australian wine industry already reeling from temporary duties imposed in late November, a move that completely stopped the trade of Australian wine to China.

The duties – higher than the preliminary tariffs – will be applied for five years from Sunday, after the Chinese commerce ministry reiterated a decision made in November that the domestic wine industry had been hurt by the dumping of cheap Australian wine.

“China’s domestic wine industry has suffered material damage, and there is a causal relationship between the dumping and subsidies and the material damage,” the ministry said in a press release.

“The Ministry of Commerce conducted investigations in strict accordance with relevant Chinese laws and regulations and [World Trade Organization] rules, and made the final ruling.”

Earlier duties ranged between 107.1 per cent to 212.1 per cent.

The ministry also levied additional anti-subsidy duties of between 6.3 per cent to 6.4 per cent, but said it would not be collecting them to prevent double taxation.