The World Trade Organisations has appointed the panelists to adjudicate Australia’s challenge to the anti-dumping duties imposed on Australian bottled wine by China, moving the dispute process forward.
Minister for Trade, Dan Tehan announced the formation of the panel today and his office said:
"The Australian Government is committed to defending the interests of Australian wine makers and will continue to use the WTO system to stand up for the rights of Australian exporters."
It also asserted that Australia remains open to further discussions with China to resolve this issue.
The next key milestone will be for Australia and China to file written submissions, at a date to be agreed with the panel.
Australian Grape & Wine welcomed the announcement. Chief Executive, Tony Battaglene said, "This is the next step in the WTO’s dispute resolution process. We were pleased by the cooperation between Chinese and Australian officials in moving quickly through this phase. We also understand that agreement was reached between Australia and China on the forward appeals process, in the absence of a functioning WTO Appellate Body, which is also positive.”
“We understand that submissions will now be presented to the panel before a formal hearing later this year. We look forward to demonstrating to the world that Australia produces great wine and does so in a fair and transparent manner”.
Mr Battaglene also reiterated the situation, namely that anti-dumping duties on Australian bottled wine have effectively stopped Australia's wine trade with China, to the detriment of Australian producers, Chinese consumers and Chinese owned businesses that relied on the trade.
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