The largest wine company of Australia says its imports into China have been hit with a massive 169.3 per cent tariff, and it will implement emergency measures to minimise the damage.
Trade relations between Australia and China deteriorated late last week after Beijing imposed crippling import taxes, ranging from 107 to 200 per cent, on all Australian wines.
These measures followed the preliminary findings of a Chinese anti-dumping investigation, which claimed Australian winemakers were selling wine below the cost of production, and therefore causing China’s winemakers “substantial harm”.
The company said it expected demand for its wine from China to be “extremely limited” from now on.
The tariffs, called “anti-dumping security deposits” by the Chinese authorities, will be charged to Chinese importers who order Treasury’s wines in bottles of 2 litres or less.