Australia Eyes Second WTO Action Against China, This Time for Wine

An employee of Pernod Ricard China, distributors of Jacob's Creek Wines in China, attends a winetasting session at Jacob's Creek Winery in South Australia's Barossa Valley on July 20, 2010. Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images

Australia’s trade minister is considering whether to launch a second action against China at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), this time to fight tariffs imposed on wine exports.

It follows an ongoing WTO action over barley tariffs that was launched late last year by Australia.

“One of the things we are very keen to do is to make sure with our trade disputes with China, is that we are using every means we can to deal with them,” Trade Minister Dan Tehan told Sky News’ Sunday Agenda program on Sunday.

“Obviously, the WTO is one of those mechanisms. We are using that when it comes to barley, and we are under very deep consideration now when it comes to wine, as to whether we will also refer that,” he added.

Tehan is about to embark on a trip to Europe, which will include a meeting with the WTO director-general in Geneva.

He is also due to meet with other leaders to push against trade “protectionism.” The European Union and the United Kingdom are backing the introduction of “carbon tariffs” against countries with “less stringent” environmental laws.

Tehan’s comments on WTO action come just weeks after Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) pulled the trigger and decided to slap tariffs, worth 116 to 218 percent, on Australian wine exports to China.

Australian wine (2nd R) is displayed amongst other wines at a shop in Beijing on December 23, 2020. (Noel Celis/AFP) via Getty Images)

In August 2020, MOFCOM launched an investigation into supposed “dumping” practices by Australian wine companies, claiming they were selling products at below-the-market prices to drown out local producers.

This claim was rebuffed by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who pointed out that Australian wines had the second-highest average price in China after New Zealand wine.