Barley dishes may be the 'rather step' toward more profitable trade ties with China. Australia hopes wine is following

April 17, 2023: Australia and China’s deal to review trade rules on barley is a crucial “initial step” toward growing strained ties between both sides. However, Australia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell said a resolution may still be months away.

“Barley is the initial step in a long way of stabilizing our trading relationship with China,” Farrell stated after the two economic giants agreed to work toward taking out tariffs on Australian barley.

On Tuesday, Australia agreed to “temporarily suspend” a World Trade Organization against China for its outcomes to impose 80.5% tasks on Australian barley at the height of diplomatic tensions.

“Following last constructive dialogue at every level, we welcome China’s deal to undertake an expedited of the duties more than a three-month period, which may be lengthened to a fourth if required,” the Australian administration said.

Since China’s tariffs on barley, Australia has been effectively blocked from exports to that market worth $620 million in 2018-19.

“It’s an act of goodwill. We indicated that we would suspend our World Trade Organization application regarding barley in return for an early re-examination of China’s idea of the tariffs,” Farrell said.

When asked about a timeline for a complete resolution to the barley tariffs, the Australian trade minister said he looks at “the next three to months.”

“Those issues didn’t come overnight; they won’t be resolved overnight,” Farrell said.

In addition to barley, different Australian products caught up in the China-Australia- trade dispute include wine, beef and cotton, which slaps with varying restrictions.

In March, Bloomberg stated that China reversed restrictions imposed on Australian coal imports, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Australian farmers hope a tariff reversal will be extended to barley growers.

“We’re wishing that at the end of it, those duties reviewing, and that will be positive from a cost perspective in what has been a very increase production year and time for our Australian growers,” Shona Gawel, CEO of Grain Growers, a representative body for Australian grain farmers, told on Wednesday.