Tariffs start tomorrow

Tariffs will be imposed on all Australian wine exports from tomorrow, November 28, China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced today.

At the urging of importers, Australian exporters have for the most part deferred sending wine to our biggest trading partner since November 6. But the imposition of the tariffs in the midst of the investigation has still shocked the industry.

Treasury Wine Estates went into a trading halt this morning and Tony Battaglene, chief executive at Australian Grape and Wine said:

“I was surprised. We are in the middle of the investigation. I was disappointed. I have looked at all the submissions and seen no evidence of dumping. And I am shocked. The tariffs being imposed could close an entire export market to Australia,” he said.

The tariffs imposed by China on Australian wines sit between 160-200%. Comparatively, European wines have a 20% tariff and Chilean wines have zero tariffs.

Battagelene said his sentiments of shock and disappointment were shared industry wide and that he is set to brief the Trade Minister, Simon Birmingham, and DFAT before the close of the day.

The tariffs come at the busiest time of year for Australian exporters to China. Battaglene said that 40-50% of Australia’s export revenue is from this time of year.

Treasury Wine Estates went into a trading halt this morning following the news which saw its share price fall by 13%. TWE will not recommence trading until next Tuesday when the business will make an announcement about the tariffs.

The interim tariffs – in place for four months or possibly for the duration of the investigation -  are differential:

212%: for businesses that did not register to be part of the anti-dumping and countervailing duties investigation.

169%: for businesses that registered to be a part of the investigation

169% for Treasury Wine Estates

160% for Casella Wines

107% for Australian Swan Limited

Mr Battaglene said that AGW is having the announcement translated to better understand the rationale behind the differentiation and AGW has ten days ito respond to the arguments.

He said: “We will do all by the book because if we end up in the WTO (World Trade Organisation), we need to argue our case with a solid and thorough foundation.”

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said China's decision was deeply disappointing.

“The Australian Government categorically rejects any allegation that our wine producers are dumping product into China, and we continue to believe there is no basis or any evidence for these claims.

“We will continue to work with our wine industry and Chinese authorities as part of the ongoing dumping investigation, but we will of course consider all of our options moving forward.

“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.”