China has dropped tariffs on Australian wine, a long-awaited decision heralded by the Albanese government as validation of its “calm and consistent approach” with the superpower on a series of controversial trade disputes. In a statement on Thursday the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, foreign minister, Penny Wong, and trade minister, Don Farrell, said they had been informed that from Friday, China’s duties on Australian bottled wine would come to an end. Australia would, in turn, discontinue its legal proceedings in the World Trade Organization, the government said. “We welcome this…
Tag: Wine
Chinese foreign minister’s visit to Australia locked in hours after Beijing signals wine tariff lift
China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, will visit Australia for the first time in seven years, with next week’s trip being locked in just hours after Beijing offered a reprieve to Australian winemakers. China imposed tariffs of up to 200% on Australian wine at the height of the diplomatic dispute in 2020, alongside measures affecting a range of products including barley, red meat, seafood and coal. Australia has since been in the grips of a wine glut with an oversupply equivalent to more than 2.8bn bottles of wine after vintage last…
Australia and China suspend WTO wine tariff dispute ahead of Anthony Albanese’s trip to Beijing
China has agreed to review the tariffs it places on Australian wine producers after a breakthrough in negotiations ahead of Anthony Albanese’s trip to Beijing next month. Albanese said on Sunday the two countries had agreed to suspend their long-running World Trade Organization dispute while Beijing undertakes an “expedited review” of duties, which is expected to take five months. If the sanctions are not removed at the end of the review, Australia will resume the dispute. “We welcome China’s agreement to undertake an expedited review of its duties,” Albanese said…
Australia’s oversupply of wine tops 2.8bn bottles in wake of China trade dispute
Australia has an oversupply equivalent to more than 2.8bn bottles of wine – a little more than 100 bottles per person – after the trade dispute with China slashed exports to the biggest consumer of Australian wines. The excess wine is being stored in large steel vats in wineries across Australia, equating to 859 Olympic wine-filled swimming pools. The removal of Chinese tariffs on Australian barley has some grape growers optimistic that the five-year wine tariffs implemented in 2021 may be dropped early, but a new Rabobank report suggests even…
Australian winemakers hopeful of breakthrough on $1.2bn China trade but still plan to diversify markets
Australian wine producers hope Beijing could soon remove tariffs that slashed the $1.2bn trade by 99% – but say they are wary about relying too heavily on the Chinese market. After the Australian government announced a deal with China that could lead to the scrapping of tariffs on barley within months, wine producers also expressed cautious optimism. The chief executive of Australian Grape and Wine, Lee McLean, said he hoped China’s promised review of the barley tariffs went well and could serve as a template for removing the imposts on…
Shortage of key ingredient puts Australia’s 2022 wine vintage at risk
Wine industry suppliers have been warned to plan ahead amid rising costs and international shortages of a key ingredient in the winemaking process. The sector has been affected by reduced supplies of diammonium phosphate (DAP), a nitrogen fertiliser commonly used during grape fermentation. Jason Amos, the chair of Wine Industry Suppliers Australia (Wisa), told Guardian Australia that shipping delays and a reduction in supply of DAP from China had combined to increase costs. “I’ve seen prices up to five times more expensive for us in the wine sector,” he said.…