China-Australia relations: Beijing blocks ‘premature’ move to set up WTO probe into Australian barley tariffs

Name: Trade ‘only one part of the battle‘ in China-Australia dispute, says legal expert Bryan Mercurio
Uploaded: 2021-04-29T03:24:09.000Z
Duration: 9 min 20 s
Description: Trade ‘only one part of the battle‘ in China-Australia dispute, says legal expert Bryan Mercurio

China imposed an 80.5 per cent tariff on Australia’s barley exports in May last year following the conclusion of an 18-month investigation

Australia filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) in November, but China rejected the request to form a panel on Wednesday – a move that will only delay the process

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After an 18-month investigation, China imposed a total tariff of 80.5 per cent on Australia’s barley exports in May, made up of an anti-dumping duty of 73.6 per cent and a countervailing or anti-subsidy levy of 6.9 per cent. Photo: Bloomberg

Andrew Mullen

Published: 11:24am, 29 Apr 2021Updated: 12:17pm, 29 Apr 2021

China as expected blocked Australia’s first request to establish a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel to investigate Beijing’s anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed on imports of Australian barley.

It imposed an 80.5 per cent tariff on Australia’s barley exports in May following the conclusion of an 18-month investigation, with the WTO confirming that Canberra filed a complaint with the Geneva-based body in November.

According to a Geneva trade official, Australia said at Wednesday’s meeting of the WTO’s dispute-settlement body that China’s measures were “inconsistent” with WTO rules on the use of anti-dumping and countervailing measures, insisting that “no concrete steps” had been taken to respond to its concerns.

China responded that it was “not in a position” to agree to Australia’s “premature” request, as Beijing has been engaging in constructive and good-faith talks with Canberra both during and after the WTO consultations, and was willing to continue its engagement.

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Trade ‘only one part of the battle‘ in China-Australia dispute, says legal expert Bryan Mercurio

China also insisted that its authorities had conducted its investigation in a fair, thorough and transparent manner.