China has recommended dropping tariffs on Australian wine exports worth $1 billion in an interim decision.
Beijing agreed to review the sanctions under a five-month process after the Albanese government agreed to suspend its dispute lodged with the World Trade Organisation until March 31.
China on Tuesday released its interim recommendation that the duties on wine are no longer necessary.
Beijing will announce its final decision later this month, but the move has sparked hope the tariffs will be fully removed.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government had stabilised the relationship with China without compromising the nation’s values.
“We have delivered on that commitment through calm and consistent dialogue,” she said.
“We continue to press for all remaining trade impediments to be removed.”
Trade Minister Don Farrell said the interim recommendation was a welcome development.
“It vindicates the government’s preferred approach of resolving trade issues through dialogue rather than disputation,” he said.
China lifted tariffs on Australian barley in August last year following a similar process, after Labor paused a WTO dispute in exchange for a review.
Senator Farrell recently met his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on the sidelines of the WTO’s ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi last month.
China’s Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian on Monday said the review was “moving on the right track, in the right direction”.
Sanctions worth $2 billion remain on wine, rock lobster and some abattoirs.
Beijing imposed $20 billion in sanctions on Australian products, during heightened tensions in 2020.
Source Agencies
