By Jonathan Cheng
China's Ministry of Commerce said Friday that it would scrap tariffs on Australian-imported barley, in the latest sign of improving ties between Beijing and Canberra.
The ministry said it is no longer necessary to keep imposing anti-dumping and countervailing duties on barley imports from Australia based on changes in the Chinese market.
China had launched a review of tariff sanctions on Australian barley in April.
Beijing in 2020 levied tariffs of 80.5% on Australian barley, saying that Australian farmers were benefiting from government subsidies and dumping in the Chinese market. Australian barley exports to China were worth around $1 billion annually before the tariffs were imposed in 2020, according to analytics firm IHS Markit.
China imposed the tariffs as bilateral ties soured after Australia's then-prime minister, Scott Morrison, called for an international investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, angering Beijing.
As bilateral ties frayed, Beijing also imposed tariffs on Australian beef, wine and rock lobsters while suspending imports of coal and timber.
Canberra said Friday that it welcomed the lifting of the barley tariffs, and said it would drop legal proceedings that it had filed with the World Trade Organization. Australia temporarily suspended its WTO dispute in April while China conducted an expedited review of the measures, which led to Friday's decision.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been steadily improving since Anthony Albanese became prime minister of Australia in May 2022. China also resumed imports of coal and timber from Australia earlier this year.
Canberra said in its statement that it expects "a similar process to be followed to remove the duties on Australian wine," while continuing to pursue a resolution at the WTO.
--Grace Zhu and Mike Cherney contributed to this report
Write to Jonathan Cheng at jonathan.cheng@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-04-23 0147ET
