IMPORTS – CHINA – REGULATION

BHP stays silent on China’s iron ore ban

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 15 : 1-Oct-25

State-run iron ore trader China Mineral Resources Group is said to have imposed a temporary ban on BHP’s shipments of the steel input due to an ongoing dispute over the renewal of long-term supply contracts. The dispute began in mid-September, when CMRG instructed steel mills not to accept delivery of a BHP product known as Jimblebar blend fines or to buy such shipments on the spot market; the ban has now been extended to all BHP iron ore shipments, according to Bloomberg. CMRG was established in 2022 to improve China’s ability to negotiate with iron ore miners, and it now represents more than half of China’s steelmakers in contract discussions. BHP has declined to comment on the import ban.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, CHINA MINERAL RESOURCES GROUP COMPANY LIMITED

China to restart lobster trade in big breakthrough

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 11-Oct-24

Western Australia’s Premier Roger Cook has welcomed the announcement that China will lift its restrictions on the importation of Australian rock lobsters, saying WA’s rock lobsters are the best in the world. The decision was confirmed by Chinese Premier Li Qiang in talks with the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Laos on Thursday. China’s move to lift its ban on rock lobsters brings to an end four years of trade restrictions that were imposed on $20 billion worth of Australian agricultural exports after the former Coalition government called for an independent inquiry into the source of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH-EAST ASIAN NATIONS

TWE ready for China reopening

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 : 24-Oct-23

China was Treasury Wine Estate’s biggest source of profit growth prior to the imposition of punitive tariffs on Australian imports in 2020. Treasury Wine Estates has advised that it is well-placed to rebuild this business if the Chinese government winds back its trade sanctions following its proposed review of the tariff on Australian wines. Treasury has indicated that it will allocate more of its flagship Penfolds brand to the Chinese market if the tariffs are removed, given that the brand had been highly popular with Chinese consumers.

CORPORATES
TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE

China wine tariffs under review

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Original article by Will Glasgow
The Australian – Page: 4 : 23-Oct-23

The Chinese government imposed tariffs of more than 200 per cent on Australian wine in 2020 as part of a widespread imposition of tariffs on Australian exports after the former Coalition government called for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. However, China has announced that it will review its tariffs on Australian wine. Shadow foreign affairs minister Simon Birmingham – who was trade minister at the time the tariffs were imposed – said they were "an attempt at economic coercion by China".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM urged not to visit China till sanctions go

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 2 : 26-Jul-23

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remains under pressure to postpone a proposed official visit to China amid ongoing trade tensions. Warwick Smith from the Business Council of Australia says China’s trade sanctions are an "endless point of contention" that must be addressed before Albanese considers visiting China. Smith says the Productivity Commission’s recent finding that the trade restrictions had resulted in little impact on the Australian economy shows that China’s stance had been a "political own-goal"; however, he notes that individual companies had been heavily impacted by the sanctions. The wine industry in particular has found it hard to secure alternative export markets.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

China trade tension a risk to economy: BHP mining boss

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Original article by Emmaline Stigwood
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 21-May-21

China’s unofficial ban on coal imports from Australia has forced local producers to find alternative markets for metallurgical coal. BHP Minerals Australia president Edgar Basto notes that this has resulted in the price falling by up to 50 per cent; he says this is unsustainable and action to improve Australia’s relations with China will eventually be needed, given that China is a major market for coal used in steel-making. Basto says that both nations must take action to "rebuild trust".

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

China tensions threaten LNG, coal exports

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Weekend Australian – Page: 20 : 15-May-21

China has imposed an informal ban on Australian thermal coal since 2020, and consultancy Wood Mackenzie expects the ban to remain in place until 2022. There are now also suggestions that the ongoing tensions could see China pull back from agreeing to sign long-term LNG deals with Australia, which supplies 45 per cent of China’s LNG requirements. Woodside Petroleum advised in February that it had been forced to delay talks to sell LNG to China, citing the economic rift between the two nations.

CORPORATES
WOOD MACKENZIE, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

China accuses Australia of playing the victim and politicising trade, says coal ban is responsible act

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Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 16-Dec-20

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to growing criticism of its sanctions against some imports from Australia. Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the ministry, has used a press conference in Beijing to stress that the recent action taken by the nation’s authorities is in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, as well as international practice. He has also described it as a "responsible act" for Chinese industries and consumers. Coal appears to be the latest commodity to be hit by Chinese restrictions, which have also affected products such as wine, beef, timber and barley.

CORPORATES
CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE

China coal ban an FTA breach

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Dec-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government has received no "official information" from China about restrictions on coal imports from Australia. He says that any such move would be in breach of both the free-trade agreement between the two nations and World Trade Organization rules. China’s state-owned media has reported that Australian thermal coal will be blacklisted in favour of coal from countries such as Indonesia, Russia and Mongolia. Morrison contends that a ban on higher-quality Australian coal would increase China’s carbon emissions. He has also emphasised that Japan and India are bigger markets for Australian thermal and coking coal respectively than China.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Find another market other than China, exporters warned

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Original article by Will Glasgow, Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 6 : 6-Nov-20

Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has asked the Chinese government to clarify whether it does intend to impose new bans on Australian imports, after media reports in China appeared to confirm this. Meanwhile, federal government officials have discussed the potential ban during a telephone briefing with representatives from the agricultural industry, one of the sectors that would be amongst the hardest hit by such a ban. Participants in the briefing say they were advised to find alternative export markets.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE