Australia moves to sue China to WTO over barley import duties
(VOVWORLD) -Australia on Friday moved ahead with a World Trade Organization case against Chinese tariffs on barley imports, as tensions between the two countries showed little sign of abating.
 Harvesting barley in New South Wales, Australia. Photo: AFP/VNA
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Trade Minister Dan Tehan said Canberra would ask the WTO to set up a dispute settlement committee to look into the case, the next step in a bid to claim that China has illegally imposed tariffs. According to Minister Tehan, Beijing's decision to impose import duties of up to 80% on Australian barley has "effectively stopped Australia's barley trade with China."
Australia late last year launched a formal appeal to the WTO seeking a review of China's decision to impose hefty tariffs on imports of Australian barley.
Beijing has imposed a series of economic sanctions on many Australian products as diplomatic relations with Canberra plunged to their lowest level in 1989.