Comments attributable to NFF Chief Executive, Tony Mahar
We welcome today’s announcement that China will lift anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on Australian barley.
Scrapping these tariffs is welcome news for some 23,000 Australian grain producers who have been impacted by the tariffs imposed in 2020.
These tariffs significantly impacted the barley trade between Australia and China which previously accounted for approximately 60-70% of barley exports.
The Australian farming sector was always of the view there was no justification for these duties and that it was in both countries’ best interest for all trade impediments to be removed.
Today’s announcement is a positive outcome and another step in the right direction to resuming full trade with an important market for Australian agriculture.
This development is in the long-term interests of Australia and China and highlights the positive effect of meaningful collaboration.
Fortunately, Australia’s other existing trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) supported Australian farmers to export barley into other markets such as Mexico.
The NFF supports trade diversification to provide choice for farmers to make informed decisions about where to export their products.
We acknowledge the hard work by the Albanese Government to stabilise our relationship with China – in particular Minister Watt, Minister Wong and Minister Farrell who have engaged constructively with their counterparts on this issue.
We will continue to work closely with the Australian Government to support full normalisation of our trade with China, including removal of restrictions on Australian wine and seafood.
