Members of parliaments from 19 countries around the world, including the U.S., have urged their citizens to “stand against authoritarian bullying” and drink Australian wine this month.
It’s a response to tariff ranging from 107% to 200% imposed on Australian wine by China.
“This isn’t just an attack on Australia. It’s an attack on free countries everywhere,” Australian Sen. Kimberly Kitching said. China has cancelled a whole range of Australian imports “in an attempt to bully us into abandoning our values,” she said, but Australian wine is one of the most severely affected.
“China’s attack on #Australia for standing up for human rights & transparency is an attack on free nations everywhere. I’m honored to stand with my international IPAC colleagues in supporting our friends down under,” said Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.)
It’s not just a trade dispute. China has demand Australia stop its “#StandWithHongKong” campaign.
Australia’s wine production industry earned $7 billion of revenue, according to IBISWorld, a market research firm. China accounted for 36.7% of Australian wine’s export revenue last year.
Treasury Wine Estates was hit with a 169.3% tariff and said it expects demand for its wine in China to be “extremely limited” in the future. The Chinese market accounted for 30% of Treasury Wine’s profit in the past fiscal year, and two-thirds of its sales to Asia.
Treasury said it will reallocate its Penfolds Bin and Icon ranges to other luxury growth markets from China, including Asian countries outside of China, Europe, the United States and domestically in Australia. It will also cut costs and reallocate luxury grapes to other brands, including Wynns, Wolf Blass, Seppelt and Pepperjack. It says those brands have been “significantly supply-constrained over recent years.”