Australia called Wednesday for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to investigate Chinese tariffs on barley imports, turning to an “independent umpire” to adjudicate one of several bitter politically tinged disputes between the two nations.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham denounced Beijing’s 80% surcharge on Australian barley shipments as “not underpinned by facts and evidence”, and suggested further WTO action could be in the pipeline.
“We have continued to raise our concerns with China on numerous occasions,” Birmingham said, lamenting that efforts to reach a negotiated settlement had failed.
“We now believe that calling in the independent umpire is the most appropriate course of action to resolve this dispute,” he added, admitting the process of arbitration and appeals could take years. It is the first time Australia has taken legal action against China at the WTO over what commentators have dubbed “shadow trade war” between Beijing and Canberra.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2020.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ