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BEIJING: China said on Thursday (December 10) that it imposed new import tariffs on Australian wine, as it accused Canberra of subsidizing companies, in the latest salvo in a bitter standoff following fluctuating anti-dumping tariffs last month.
The move comes as relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate after Australia earlier this year requested an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak, which emerged in China.
Anti-subsidy tariffs of 6.3 to 6.4 percent will go into effect on Friday and will be added to November’s anti-dumping levies of 107 to 212 percent.
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China’s Commerce Ministry said the move followed an investigation announced in late August.
“The investigating authority has preliminarily determined that there are subsidies for imported wines originating in Australia, and the domestic (Chinese) wine industry has suffered substantial damage,” the ministry said.
The ministry has complained that Australian winemakers benefit from government subsidies that give them an advantage over Chinese companies.
But Australia’s trade minister called last month’s measures “grossly unfair, unjustified, unjustified”.
Australian winemakers have warned that last month’s tariffs would likely mean the lucrative Chinese market would be exhausted.
Treasury Wine Estates, which produces the popular high-end Penfolds brand, said it would seek other “key luxury growth markets” and cut costs as sales accounting for 30 percent of profits fall.
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Relations between Australia and China have exploded this year, with Beijing producing a long list of complaints about Australian policies, including its ban on Huawei’s involvement in 5G in the country.
Beijing also suspended beef imports from four Australian slaughterhouses in May, hitting the country’s barley shipments with tariffs.
China frequently shows its economic might in diplomatic disputes, with Australia being one of several countries that recently faced its ire in the form of trade restrictions.
Last year, Beijing suspended imports of Canadian canola, beef and pork, citing pests and health concerns as relations deteriorated following the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer by Canadian authorities in 2018.
