China is using barley tariffs as an ‘economic weapon to warn the PM’

China has most likely “looked at the available economic weapons open to them to teach Australia a lesson” and chosen to use its threat of tariffs on the barley industry according to former Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger.

On Monday, China gave Australia an ultimatum, threatening tariffs up to 80 per cent on grain if the federal government does not respond to allegations of "barley dumping" in 10 days, in an escalation of trade tensions between the two sovereign nations.

The prime minister said a Chinese government review into the alleged ‘dumping’ of Australian barley into the Chinese market has been “going on for 18 months” and refused to link the threat with Australia’s call for an independent inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak.

Mr Kroger said barley exports is quite clearly one of the items “on the list” of economic weapons, and have therefore decided to “use it as a warning to the prime minister”.

Former Labor Minister Stephen Conroy has told Sky News host Andrew Bolt, China is no longer make a “pretence that they want to be a responsible international citizen”.

Image: AP

Видео China is using barley tariffs as an ‘economic weapon to warn the PM’ канала Sky News Australia