China News Service, Beijing, May 14 (Reporter Li Xiaoyu) Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng said on the 14th whether he would impose high tariffs on barley imported from Australia, saying that China will make an objective, fair and just final ruling according to law .
On November 19 and December 21, 2018, the Ministry of Commerce of China launched an anti-dumping and countervailing investigation against barley originating in Australia. In November 2019, the Ministry of Commerce stated that the case was complicated and decided to extend the investigation period of the two cases by 6 months to May 19 and June 21, 2020. As the deadline approached, some foreign media reported that China may impose high tariffs on these barley.
In this regard, Gao Feng said at a news conference held on that day that during the investigation, China fully protected the legal rights of various interested parties, including the Australian side, and listened to opinions widely. According to the investigation results, China will fully consider the comments of the interested parties and make an objective, fair and just final ruling according to law.
Australia is China's largest barley supplier, and exports to China account for more than half of Australia's total barley exports.
According to Chinese statistics, the "volume increase and price drop" of imported barley in Australia in recent years are very obvious. Among them, the number of imports increased from 3.877 million tons in 2014 to 6.804 million tons in 2017, a substantial increase of 67.14%; the import price decreased from US $ 288.72 per ton in 2014 to US $ 198.05 per ton in 2017, a decrease of more than 31% . Affected by this, China's domestic barley planting area decreased by about 14%. (Finish)