In: Economics
You probably have heard that China very lately introduced a tariff of about 80% on Australia barley on the basis of Australia dumping barley in China's market. In response, Australia's Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said that Australia will not take any tit-for-tat retaliation and remain committed to mutual trade benefits with China.
Provide some explanations behind this intention. Had a trade war between the two countries taken place, would Australia lose and China win? (200-300 words)
China is Australia 's biggest trading partner due to China's strong demand for iron ore,coal and liquid natural gas.The new tariff imposed by China will cripple Australia's barley exports to China worth hundreds of millions of dollars . Exporters of beef from Australia to China complain that China suspended the import of beef from Australia and so the beef industry suffered .China is an important market for Australian beef export. Strong commercial relations and supply chain has been developed to supply high quality Australian red meat product to China.Australia exported 300,133 tonnes of beef to China in 2019.This was hampered by trade war.China's decision to impose tariff on Barley has taken away the market that was Australia's largest market for barley for more than a decade .Australia is highly dependant on Chinese market for their barley and beef.
Australia says it doesnt want trade war with China. Chinese tariffs on Australian barley could bring hundreds of millions of dollars loss in the export market .Two days after the announcement by China to impose barley tariffs , four Australian abattoirs were suspended by China from selling beef to China. This was a big blow to Australia .Wool producers in Australia were also threatened with trade tensions.Australia's four largest exports to China iron ore,natural gas, coal and $12 billion spent by international students studying in Australia are not likely to be affected in the short term. However if trade war continued , relation between the two will become worst and Australia will suffer more.