China imposes new taxes on Australian wine

Bottles of Penfolds Grange, a wine from Australia, pictured in a specialty store in Sydney, August 4, 2014. David Gray / Reuters

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The Chinese government announced this Friday, March 26, the imposition of prohibitive taxes on the importation of Australian bottled wines, while tensions between Beijing and Canberra have been exacerbated since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

A very hard blow for Australian wine growers, since China is their number one international customer.

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With our correspondent in Sydney,

Grégory Plesse

Surcharges ranging from 110 to 220%, this is what the Chinese authorities will impose from this Sunday March 28 to Australian bottled wines, for the next five years.

This is the result of an investigation launched last August by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, which accuses Australian wine growers of

dumping.

This new trade sanction against Australia

is in addition to other implemented in recent months

, targeting barley, beef, or coal, in a context of growing tensions between Beijing and Canberra.

Appeal to the WTO

Australian wine sales, already subject to a 200% tax since August, have collapsed in recent months, falling to $ 1 million in January from

$ 164 million last October

.

Beyond wine, all trade between Australia and

China

, its largest trading partner, is affected.

According to a report from the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, exports to China, excluding iron ore, have fallen by 40% since the end of 2019. Canberra for its part intends to appeal to the World Trade Organization.

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To read also: China imposes very heavy surcharges on Australian wines

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