Australia accuses China of breaching trade rules; slams 'discriminatory' coal ban

Amid the rising tensions between Beijing and Canberra, Australian PM Scott Morrison on December 15 accused China of breaching international trade rules through its reported ban on Australian coal imports. Morrison’s remarks come in response to a report in Chinese state media outlet Global Times confirming that Beijing was restricting imports of coal only from Australia and prioritising imports from Mongolia, Indonesia and Russia. The Australian PM, along with Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, accused China of breaching its agreement with Australia and further said that the government is seeking clarification from Beijing about the reported ban. 

According to The Guardian, Morrison said that if the coal ban was in a place that would “obviously be in breach of WTO rules” and “obviously in breach of our own free trade agreement”. While speaking about the souring relationship between the two countries, he argued that it was correct to stand up for liberal democratic values, Australia’s sovereignty and to push for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19. Further, Morrison also hoped that he would have a “direct” conversation with his Chinese counterpart in 2021, saying there was “no barrier to that occurring on the Australian side”. 

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Australian trade minister, Birmingham also reiterated Morrison’s remarks and said that the report of coal restrictions was consistent with a “pattern of disruption in relation to Australian coal” that has been bulk loaders stranded off China. He said that if the Global Times reports are true, the retraction could “potentially constitute discriminatory action against Australian producers” and “potentially constitute a breach of the type of undertakings that China has made to Australia. Birmingham also said that Morrison’s government was very concerned by the “cumulative series of events and actions” against Australian producers and continued to raise concerns diplomatically and in the WTO. 

The Australian trade minister also went on to acknowledge that China was a “significant market”. However, he also argued that the import restrictions would harm China because Australian coal was around 1.5 times more efficient in terms of energy production than most other competitor nations, including Chinese domestic coal. He explained that to get the same level of energy generation, China will end up having to use more coal from other sources and generate more emissions which will do anything but help China in terms of meeting some of the commitments it has made to the world around emissions reduction as well. 

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Australia launches WTO appeal against barley tariff 

Meanwhile, as tensions have grown over Beijing’s influence in Australian affairs, Canberra has also said that they will challenge China’s tariff on its barley exports in an appeal to the WTO. In recent months, China has imposed a ban on the import of barley, beef and other foods from Australia. In May, China had effectively ended imports of Australian barley by putting tariffs of more than 80% on the crop and accusing Australia of breaching World Trade Organization rules by subsidizing barley production and selling the crop in China at below production costs. Australia dismissed the matter saying that it did not want a trade war with China, its largest trade partner. However, China continued the imposition of bans and haled the import of beef and other items.

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