Since the beginning of May, the commercial relations between China Y Australia broke, so the Prime Minister Scott Morrison seeks to win the support of the nations of the G7. “The World Trade Organization (WTO) it must have a binding conflict resolution system to address the growing use of ‘economic coercion,’ “the diplomat said Wednesday.
The attrition between the two nations began in 2018, when Australia banned the participation of Huawei in its fledgling 5G broadband network. And they got even worse this year, after the Australian government called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, first registered in central China in December 2019.
“The most practical way to address economic coercion is to restore the binding dispute settlement system of the world trade body,” Morrison said in a speech in the city of Perth. “When there are no consequences for coercive behavior, there is little incentive for moderation,” he added.
China responded by imposing tariffs on Australian staples, including wine and barley, and by limiting imports of beef, charcoal and grapes, measures rated by USA of “economic coercion.” Australia has said it will not give in to Chinese pressure and has appealed to the WTO over the imposition of tariffs by Beijing, which amount to more than 80% and which have slowed a trade of billions of dollars, reported Reuters.
However, Morrison called on G7 countries to back WTO reform before the November ministerial conference. Morrison said many world leaders have expressed support for Australia’s position, but like-minded countries must now step up cooperation. “The stakes are high, for Australia, for our region and indeed for the world,” he concluded.
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