China Sues Australia at WTO Over Tariffs in Hit to Strained Ties

(Bloomberg) --

China sued Australia over anti-dumping measures on some Chinese goods, further ratcheting up tensions between the two nations.

China filed a lawsuit at the World Trade Organization over Australian anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on Chinese exports of railway wheels, wind towers, and stainless steel sinks, the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday in Beijing. This would be the third recent WTO case between the two, after Australia sued over Chinese tariffs on wine and barley.

Relations between the two sides have steadily worsened since 2018, when Australia barred Huawei Technologies Co. from building its 5G network, and went into freefall last year as Prime Minister Scott Morrison led calls for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus that first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Beijing has responded with tariffs and restrictions on imports of coal, barley, lobsters and wine.

Read more: Australians’ Trust in China Hits New Low as Relations Worsen

China opposes nations abusing trade remedy measures which damage the legitimate rights of Chinese companies and undermine the authority of WTO rules, Ministry of Commerce Spokesman Gao Feng told reporters in Beijing Thursday. China hopes Australia can avoid distorting trade in relevant goods and bring this back to the normal track as soon as possible, he said.

The Chinese announcement comes after Morrison said earlier this month that his government wanted to restart dialog with Beijing.

Read More: Australia Takes China’s Wine Tariffs to WTO as Ties Sour

When it imposed tariffs in March for five years on most shipments of Australian wine, China said the wine had been subsidized and sold under market value, a view that’s been rejected by the government Down Under. Australia then said last week it was taking China to the WTO over tariffs on wine which China imposed in March.

“I want to stress that China plays by WTO rules,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing. “We handle issues according to those rules.”

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