Australia urges China to remove all trade restrictions after barley tariffs lifted

Australia has urged China to abolish each remaining commercialized restrictions aft Beijing lifted tariffs connected its barley imports, pointing to signs of a normalization successful bilateral ties.

Canberra is expecting its largest trading partner to adjacent driblet tariffs connected Australian vino imports that were introduced successful March 2021. At the highest of diplomatic tensions successful 2020 and 2021, Beijing slapped import tariffs on several Australian exports from vino and reddish nutrient to lobsters and timber.

"We privation each of the impediments removed that presently impact our trading narration with China," Trade Minister Don Farrell told CNBC Monday.

"We ever saw the barley exertion and the suspension of the barley exertion earlier the [World Trade Organisation] arsenic a template for dealing with the vino issue," helium said. "So I deliberation now's the accidental to person immoderate further talks with the Chinese government."

A determination connected vino tariffs is "not precise acold away," according to Farrell. "And of course, we're highly assured that the 220% tariffs that were applied to Australian vino volition beryllium removed."

In April, Australia agreed to "temporarily suspend" its World Trade Organization ailment against China for its 2020 determination to enforce 80.5% duties connected Australian barley commercialized that was erstwhile worthy astir 1.5 cardinal Australian dollars ($988.1 million).

It paved the mode for Beijing to expediate its reappraisal of the tariff decision.

Last Friday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry announced it was dropping each anti-dumping and countervailing duties connected Australian barley starting Saturday — much than 3 years aft they were imposed. The ministry cited "changes successful the Chinese market" but did not further explain.

On Monday, Farrell said a "range of factors" were astatine play, with Chinese brew consumers and barley importers "very powerfully successful favor" of reintroducing Australian barley.

The determination underscored thawing tensions betwixt Australia and China, pursuing the archetypal gathering betwixt China's President Xi Jinping and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese connected the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders' acme successful Bali successful November.

Since then, Australia's overseas curate Penny Wong and commercialized curate Farrell person made aggregate visits to Beijing and person had nonstop meetings with their nonstop counterparts.

Relations betwixt the 2 countries deteriorated successful 2020 nether the enactment of erstwhile prime minister Scott Morrison, aft Australia supported a call for an planetary inquiry into China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which was archetypal reported successful the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan. 

"I deliberation our full strategy passim this process has been to de-escalate the issues, to effort and resoluteness the issues betwixt america and China done dialog alternatively than disputation," Farrell said. "And we deliberation with immoderate goodwill connected some sides, that we tin wholly stabilize this relationship."

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Australia was 1 of the fewer developed nations that exported much into China than it imports from China.

China's commercialized curbs forced Australian farmers and producers to find caller markets for their nutrient arsenic the Australian authorities sought to diversify its trading narration with escaped commercialized agreements with India and the United Kingdom. Farrell said helium is hopeful of a commercialized woody with the European Union "soon."