Breaking News | China shows muscles on Australia wines.
Wine industry sources say Australian wine imports will not clear Chinese customs after this Friday 6th November (China’s Ministry of Commerce did not confirm the news).
Australia is the largest wine exporter into China, reaching $1.2 billion in 2019. China is also Australia’s largest trading market, not only wine, accounting for 32.6% of the value of all national exports.
Earlier this year (read the article) China announced it was investigating claims Australia had sold wine below the cost of production and subsidised its farmers, prompting fears tariffs could be introduced. Australia has denied allegations of subsidising or dumping wines in China.
Ties between the two trading partners have increasingly soured in recent years. In addition to banning Huawei from participating in Australia’s 5G network, Canberra asked for an independent inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 outbreak.
That “hurt the feelings” of Chinese people and in recent months, Beijing has targeted Australian barley, beef and wine products with various actions which have been interpreted as retaliatory. It has also advised students and tourists against travelling to Australia, citing the threat of racism.
Have these reasons contributed to the spark of the China-Australia trade war? Do we need another confrontation after China-USA and USA-EU trade war?