Informal negotiations over Australia’s anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese goods have fallen through, with China on Thursday calling for a World Trade Organization panel to arbitrate the dispute.

Beijing has since June been urging Canberra to rethink three anti-dumping tariffs Australia imposed on Chinese exports of railway wheels, wind towers and stainless steel sinks between 2014 and 2019.

Its decision to contest the measures at the WTO comes after Canberra challenged Beijing’s tariffs of up to 218 per cent on Australian wines.

The moves appear to be the latest ratcheting up of tensions between the two countries, which have been locked in myriad trade and political disputes since Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

In requesting arbitration, Beijing said the Australian tariffs had “violated the WTO’s trading rules and anti-dumping and anti-subsidy regulations”.

“By imposing the anti-dumping and countervailing duties, Australia appears to have failed to carry out and comply with its obligations … The measures at issue appear to nullify or impair benefits accruing to China directly or indirectly under those agreements.”

Australia imposed 85 sets of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs against China between 1995 and 2020. Until now, China had not contested any of them.

During the same period, China initiated four sets of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties against Australian products, all of them imposed since Canberra’s call for a probe into the origins of the coronavirus in April 2020. Australia has contested all four of the duties, which pertain to wine and barley exports. These cases are still before the WTO.

Source: SCMP