The country’s largest overseas market, valued at $1.22 billion Australian dollars, or about $800 million, was virtually destroyed by the tariffs, which were first put in place in 2020 amidst a nasty diplomatic spat between Australia and China.
Australia’s wine industry was beset by extreme poverty and an overabundance of robust red wines.
China’s Ministry of Commerce declared that the tariffs would be lifted.
The conclusion came “at a critical time for the Australian wine industry,” according to a statement released by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia. He expressed his gratitude for the decision. He continued, saying, “We will keep pushing for the removal of any trade barriers that still affect Australian exports.”. An analysis from Rabo Bank states that as of August, Australia had 859 Olympic-sized swimming pools’ worth of wine in storage.
According to Australian Grape and Wine CEO Lee McLean, “that’s going to take some time to be depleted.”.
Furthermore, China cannot resolve that issue by itself. Red grape prices haven’t even come close to covering growers’ expenses, so some have decided to let their grapes wither on the vine while others have taken contracts far below what it would have cost to produce them, according to Mr. Dot McLean.
This came about after months of efforts to improve relations between the two countries, beginning with an Australian government transition.
This resulted in the holding of meetings between foreign ministers, the release of an Australian journalist who was detained in October, and the first Australian premier to visit Beijing since 2016.
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In an indication of a defusing of hostilities, China announced on Thursday that it would remove the tariffs imposed on Australian wine over three years ago.
The country’s largest overseas market, valued at 1.2 billion Australian dollars, or about $800 million, was virtually destroyed by the tariffs, which were first put in place in 2020 amidst a nasty diplomatic spat between Australia and China. Due to their extreme hardship, Australian winemakers were left with an abundance of full-bodied red wines.
China’s Ministry of Commerce declared that the tariffs would be lifted.
Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, hailed the decision and said in a statement that it came “at a critical time for the Australian wine industry.”. “We will keep pushing for the removal of any trade barriers that still affect Australian exports,” he continued. “.
According to a report by Rabo Bank, Australia had 859 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of wine in storage as of August. Australian Grape and Wine CEO Lee McLean stated, “That’s going to take some time to be depleted.”. Furthermore, China cannot resolve that issue by itself. “.
According to Mr. Dot McLean, some growers have chosen to simply let their red grapes wither on the vine because the price of the crop has barely covered their costs of production. Others have taken contracts that are significantly lower than the cost of production.
Months of efforts to improve relations between the two countries, beginning with an Australian government transition, culminated in the current development. This prompted talks between foreign ministers, the release of an Australian journalist who was imprisoned in October, and the first official visit by an Australian prime minister to Beijing since 2016.
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