China expected to sanction Australian copper, sugar
In wake of the trade conflicts and souring relations between China and Australia, importers across Beijing are anticipated to brace for a possible round of sanctions on copper ore and copper concentrate as well as sugar this week.
The General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), on Friday, issued a notice to exporters claiming that it had found a pest in imported log timber from Queensland and has banned all log exports from the Australian state, reports ANI. The Chinese customs agency further claimed that it had found contamination in barley shipments from Australian grain exporter Emerald Grain aswell.
It is further reported that bans on copper ore and copper concentrate, along with sugar, are anticipated to be introduced this week, according to multiple trade sources in China. In September, China suspended barley imports from Australia's most significant grain exporter, CBH Group, after also detecting pests in a shipment. In Shanghai over the weekend, the Chinese customs seized a West Australian rock lobster shipment for laboratory testing.
While testing is being undertaken, shipments of live lobsters have been stopped from entering China and remain quarantined in warehouses. Australia's trade minister, Simon Birmingham, on Monday said that the rock lobster shipments were being checked for "metal content levels" and the Australian government and industry groups were seeking further clarification from Beijing according to South China Morning Post.
"We understand the concerns of the industry in this regard as a result of course, this sort of product is quality value, but also has small amount of time frames regarding safely delivering the merchandise from the Australian oceans to in the end the marketplace in which they're sold," he said.
"Therefore, it's crucial that timelines are kept to a complete minimum when it comes to processing … it is important today that people don't jump to conclusions in what these delays mean, but enable our seafood industry working together with our diplomats and agricultural representatives to ascertain exactly what the reality are and whether we will be able to resume that trade confidently [and] that customs processing happens in a timely way," he added, as quoted by South China Morning Post.
"The latest round of trade blocks and bans follows a seven-month conflict which has seen not simply Australian barley hit with new duties, but Chinese bans on Australian beef exports, coal and cotton and a fresh anti-dumping investigation into Australian wine," it reported further.
These bans come after the strengthening of the united states, India, Australia and Japan. India, in October, had announced the participation of Australia in the upcoming Malabar exercise alongside the US and Japan. Most recently, China has been increasingly viewed negatively recently by innovative economies with an unfavorable judgment of the Asian country rising most in Australia according to a fresh survey by Pew Research Center.
"Negative views of China increased most in Australia, where 81 percent now say start to see the country unfavorably, up 24 percentage points since last year. In the united kingdom, around three-quarters now see the country in a poor light up 19 points. And, in america, negative views of China have increased almost 20 percentage points since President Donald Trump took office, rising 13 points since just this past year," the survey read.
