Wine bottles from around the world fill shelves in the cellar of Trio Wine Bar in Beijing, China November 1, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo Acquire Licensing Rights
A staff member sniffs wine in a glass while a customer watches at Trio Wine Bar in Beijing, China November 1, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo Acquire Licensing Rights
SHANGHAI, Nov 3 (Reuters) – News that punitive tariffs on Australian wine introduced by China in 2021 would be reviewed as part of a push to improve the relationship between the two countries was cheered by many, including Campbell Thompson.
The Beijing-based Australian CEO of wine importer and distributor The Wine Republic has spent more than a decade making his living from bringing wine, much of it from Australia, into the China market.
“We are looking forward to the tariffs being removed. I think for Australia there is definitely an opportunity,” he said.
The introduction of a 218% tax on most Australian wine introduced by China early in 2021 prompted that trade, previously valued as high as $1.2 billion annually, to collapse.
Penfold’s maker, Treasury Wine Estates, said in 2022 it had lost 97% of its China business due to the introduction of the tariffs.
Prior to Australia’s call for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 in 2020, Australian wines imported into China were subject to zero tariffs following the signing of a free trade agreement in 2015, giving them a 14% tariff advantage over many other wine producing nations.
Late last month, the two sides announced they had reached a consensus to settle the WTO wine dispute and that the anti-dumping tariffs, which weren’t set to expire until 2026, would be reviewed, ahead of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to China this month.
