China imposes anti-dumping duties on Australian wine

The Chinese government has announced that it will be imposing temporary anti-dumping duties on Australian wine imports from 28 November.

The new duties levied on Australian wine products could range between 107.1% and 212.1%, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.

In response to the new levies by the Chinese government, Australia’s trade minister Simon Birmingham said: “This is a very distressing time for many hundreds of Australian wine producers, who have built, in good faith, a sound market in China.”

According to Wine Australia, China is one of the biggest markets for Australian wine.

Additionally, the Australian government described the duties as a breach of the two countries’ free trade agreement.

Although the Chinese government said that the duties would be temporary, it did not specify any specific date when the duties would end.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Friday defended the measures as a legitimate move to protect Chinese winemakers and consumers.

Australia agriculture minister David Littleproud said: “The Australian government will vigorously defend the industry. We have 10 days in which to appeal, and we’ll work closely with the industry around that.

“We’re deeply concerned by this. In light of the recent comments by China, it gives the perception this decision is predicated on something other than any wrongdoing by the wine industry. Obviously, we’ll exhaust all avenues available to us through the World Trade Organization.”

Since the beginning of this month, China unofficially stopped the imports of various Australian products including coal, sugar, barley, lobsters, wine, copper and log timber.