China to impose anti-dumping measures on Australian wine

Beijing: China's Ministry of Commerce said on Friday it would impose anti-dumping measures on wine imports from Australia.

The domestic industry has been subject to substantial damages due to the dumping of those products, the Ministry said in a preliminary ruling posted on its website.

Starting Saturday, importers of Australian wine will be required to pay deposits ranging from 107.1 per cent to 212.1 per cent, Xinhua news agency quoted the ruling as saying.

After receiving request from the domestic industry, the Ministry launched the anti-dumping investigations into the products.

China is the biggest destination for Australia's wine exports, accounting for 39 per cent in the first nine months of 2020, according to Wine Australia, the BBC reported.

Reacting to China's announcement, Australia's Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the government was "extremely disappointed".

"The Australian government categorically rejects any allegation that our wine producers are dumping product into China," he said.

"Australian wine is hugely popular both in China and across the globe due to its high quality and we are confident that a full and thorough investigation will confirm this."

Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the new tariffs make Australian wine unviable and unmarketable in China.

"This is a very distressing time for many hundreds of Australian wine producers, who have built, in good faith, a sound market in China," he said.

In recent months, Beijing has targeted other Australian imports including coal, sugar, barley and lobsters amid political tensions.

The tensions grew after Australia backed a global inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus in April, and effectively singled out China.

Since then, Australian imports have been under the spotlight while Chinese students and tourists were warned against travelling to Australia citing fears of racism.