Australia to ‘temporarily’ suspend complaint against China in WTO

ANKARA

Australia on Tuesday said Canberra will temporarily suspend its complaint against China in the World Trade Organization (WTO) after Beijing’s assurance to resolve the tariffs dispute in the next three months.

In a joint statement with Don Farrell, minister for Trade and Tourism, and Murray Watt, minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that the two countries have reached an agreement that creates a pathway towards resolving the dispute over Australian barley.

“Following recent constructive dialogue at all levels, we welcome China’s agreement to undertake an expedited review of the duties over a three-month period, which may extend to a fourth if required,” the foreign minister said in the statement, adding: “Australia has agreed to temporarily suspend the WTO dispute for the agreed review period.”

However, she warned that it will resume in case of duties were not lifted at the end of the review period.

Since 2020, China’s 80.5% duties on Australian barley have effectively blocked exports to that market, worth about $916 million in 2018-19.

“The Australian government has been clear in our view that there is no justification for these duties and that it is in both countries’ best interest for all trade impediments to be removed,” Wong said.

This is major development between China and Australia after recent meetings between the senior officials of the two countries as relations between Beijing and Canberra had remained tense due to Australia’s demand for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

The relations between the two countries apparently saw improvement after President Xi Jinping and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s high-level meeting in Indonesia last November, followed by a meeting between their foreign ministers in Beijing.

• Australia
• China
• Foreign Minister Penny Wong
• WTO