Media release from Trade Minister Don Farrell, jointly with PM Anthony Albanese, Senator Penny Wong and Senator Murray Watt, on 28 March 2024:
“The Australian Government has been notified that, from 29 March 2024, China will remove its duties on Australian bottled wine.
“We welcome this outcome, which comes at a critical time for the Australian wine industry. The re-entry of Australian bottled wine into the Chinese market will benefit both Australian producers and Chinese consumers.
“This outcome affirms the calm and consistent approach taken by the Albanese Labor Government and follows the success of the similar approach taken to remove duties on Australian barley.
“Since 2020, China’s duties on Australian wine effectively made it unviable for Australian producers to export bottled wine to that market. Australia’s wine exports to China were worth $1.1 billion in 2019.
“We acknowledge and thank Australian grape growers and wine producers for their fortitude and support during a challenging period.”
Earlier this month, China’s Commerce Ministry handed down an interim decision all but confirming that the tariffs of up to 220% on Australian wine would be dropped. China agreed to review the tariffs in return for Australia suspending an appeal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which was initiated by the former Coalition government.
Now, the Commerce Ministry in Beijing has announced it is “no longer necessary to impose anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties on the imports of the relevant wines originating in Australia.”
Australian wine exports to China peaked at $1.1 billion in 2019-20, but crashed to a tiny fraction of that after the tariffs were imposed.
The decision means that China has now lifted almost all the formal and informal trade sanctions that it imposed on Australia from 2020, although barriers remain to the $700 million rock lobster trade, and several Australian meatworks remain blocked from the market.
Beijing has already lifted hefty tariffs on Australian barley, as well as dropping barriers to a host of other products including coal and cotton.
However, China’s consumption of wine has dropped dramatically in recent years, and analysts are warning exports are unlikely to return anywhere near the peak even after the tariffs disappear.
Read this related article from our archives: Door to China Opening Wider.
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