China’s Australian barley & wine tariffs: timeline & outcome

A major export market faces a new barrier.

The barley decision became news in May 2020. ABC reported two duties totalling 80.5 per cent, intended to last five years. Australia disputed the basis of the decision. Wine became a separate trade dispute later that year; it was not part of this original barley headline. The later removals happened on different dates.

The duties were removed. That did not restore the old market.

Barley duties were removed from 5 August 2023, followed by the additional bottled-wine duties from 29 March 2024. Wine Australia’s July 2026 report shows that exports to mainland China fell in the year ended June 2026 after the early restocking surge. Reopening the market did not guarantee a return to earlier sales or individual producers’ income.

4–5 August 2023

Barley reopened first

The Australian Government announced on 4 August 2023 that China was removing the anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Australian barley. ABC’s report gives the effective date as 5 August. The government said Australia would discontinue the related WTO proceedings. This was a removal of the trade barrier, not an award of compensation for growers’ earlier losses.

Australian Government · barley duties removed · 4 August 2023 · ABC News · barley duties removed · 4 August 2023

28–29 March 2024

Wine followed seven months later

On 28 March 2024, the Australian Government announced that China’s duties on Australian bottled wine would be removed from 29 March. It said Australia would discontinue the associated WTO proceedings. ABC reported the reopening alongside lower prices and global oversupply: market access and customer demand were separate questions.

Australian Government · wine-duty removal · 28 March 2024 · ABC News · wine-duty removal · 28 March 2024

29 July 2026

The market did not simply return to its old shape

Wine Australia reported on 29 July 2026 that exports to mainland China had fallen 15 per cent in value to $756 million and 8 per cent in volume to 77 million litres in the year ended June 2026. It said the initial surge after tariff removal reflected distributors rebuilding stocks, with demand subsequently softening. Those are aggregate export figures, not individual wineries’ profits or proof that every producer recovered.

Wine Australia · export report · 29 July 2026

The evidence

Sources for this update

Where the story stands

Ending Found

The tariffs ended. Trade returned to a changed market.

China removed the barley duties in August 2023 and the bottled-wine duties in March 2024. Australian wine then returned to the Chinese market, initially helped by distributors rebuilding their stocks. The later export figures show what happened after that rush: trade continued, but demand softened. The barrier that prompted this story has been removed, and the resumed trade is no longer just a promise. That does not reverse producers’ earlier losses or guarantee a return to their former sales. Those commercial consequences remain real, while the tariff-and-reopening account has reached its conclusion.

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China’s barley and wine tariffs: the barriers came down. Recovery was harder.