China defends tariffs on barley

Beijing | China has hit back at criticism of its barley tariffs, saying it was "prudent" and "restrained" in its use of trade remedy measures.

Commerce Minister Zhong Shan defended the decision to impose anti-dumping duties on Australian barley as being based on evidence.

"We have found out that Australia has subsidised the grain, and there has been dumping in the Chinese market which caused damage to local producers," Mr Zhong said in a briefing on the sidelines of the ongoing national parliament sessions on Monday.

Australia has rejected the Chinese claim of dumping, with Trade Minister Simon Birmingham saying last week that "China's decision is one that does concern us deeply, because it appears to have been based without a proper understanding of the facts or the evidence."

The barley tariffs and the banning of beef exports from four meat plants this month added fuel to the debate over whether China was trying to punish the nation for calling for an investigation into its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that the meat bans were a health and safety issue, and denied any link between the action and the call for a probe. China imposed an anti-dumping duty of 73.6 per cent and an anti-subsidy duty of 6.9 per cent on Australian barley, effective from May 19.

China is considering targeting more Australian exports including wine and dairy, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg last week.

Mr Zhong didn't mention the deterioration of bilateral relations and didn't indicate if any more measures are on the way. Instead, he said the investigation into barley imports, which started 18 months ago, was a lawful action.

This is the first trade-remedy investigation China has launched against Australian goods since the establishment of bilateral relations, according to Mr Zhong. During the same period, Australia has made 100 actions against Chinese goods, with three started just this year, he said.

Mr Zhong called on the members of World Trade Organisation to use trade remedy measures "with caution" as the spreading pandemic is damaging global commerce.

Bloomberg