Global Courant 2023-04-11 08:10:02
SYDNEY – Australia has reached an agreement with China to resolve their dispute over barley imports, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday, the latest sign of improving ties between the countries.
Australia will suspend its case at the World Trade Organization (WTO) while China reviews tariffs on the grain, Ms Wong told a news conference.
“China has agreed to an accelerated review of import duties on Australian barley over a period of three months, which can be extended to a fourth if necessary,” she said.
“In return, we agreed to temporarily suspend the WTO dispute for the agreed review period.”
The government expects a similar outcome in a second dispute over wine tariffs, she added.
Australia filed a formal complaint with the WTO in 2020 over anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed by China on Australian barley, one of the many sources of friction between the two countries in recent years.
Relations have thawed since the centre-left Labor Party came to power in Australia last year, when Ms Wong met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing in December, the first visit by an Australian minister since 2019. REUTERS