November 20, 2023
China to lift trade restrictions on Australian beef by year-end
Australia's Trade Minister Don Farrell anticipates the removal of trade actions imposed by China on Australian beef exports by the end of this year, signalling a positive shift in bilateral relations, Yahoo! Finance reported.
Farrell is set to meet with China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on the side lines of APEC meetings in the US, addressing trade impediments.
Farrell characterised the restrictions on lobster and beef as "biosecurity issues," distinguishing them from tariffs imposed on wine and barley over three years ago.
The improvement in relations between Australia and China over the past 18 months, particularly since the election of the centre-left Labour government in Canberra, has contributed to the gradual easing of punitive trade measures. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's recent visit to Beijing marked the first such trip by an Australian leader in over seven years.
China initiated trade measures in 2020 in response to then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison's call for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19. The retaliatory actions included tariffs on Australian wine and barley, along with restrictions on other products like beef, timber, and coal.
While the barley tariffs were lifted in August following a four-month review, a similar process for wine sanctions was initiated in October and is expected to last five months. Though Australia would have preferred a simultaneous removal of all sanctions, Farrell acknowledged China's procedural requirements and encouraged the completion of these processes for the benefit of Chinese consumers.
- Yahoo! Finance