Posted by Key events
The ABC is reporting that the United States will halve next year’s planned procurement of Virginia-class boats, as defence minister Richard Marles says Aukus partners are working “at pace” to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
It says defence budget papers released yesterday show the US Navy would order just one of the fast-attack submarines in 2025, rather than two, pushing a projected saving of $US4bn into future years.
Democratic congressman Joe Courtney reportedly warned the decision would have a “profound impact” on both countries’ navies:
If such a cut is actually enacted, it will remove one more attack submarine from a fleet that is already 17 submarines below the Navy’s long-stated requirement of 66.
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull is due to speak about this shortly on ABC RN, and we’ll bring you this here on the blog.
Continued from our last post:
Australian Grape & Wine chief executive Lee McLean said the decision was a “positive step” towards resuming trade with what was formerly the largest export market:
We remain cautiously optimistic about the forthcoming decision and will await MOFCOM’s (China’s commerce ministry) final determination.
We appreciate the collaborative efforts from both the Australian and Chinese governments, and industry partners, in working towards a resolution.
China lifted tariffs on Australian barley in August last year following a similar process, after Labor paused a WTO dispute in exchange for a review.
Beijing imposed $20bn in sanctions on Australian products, during heightened tensions in 2020.
Sanctions worth $2bn remain on wine, rock lobster and some abattoirs.
China’s ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian on Monday said the review was “moving on the right track, in the right direction”.
Senator Don Farrell recently met his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on the sidelines of the WTO’s ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi last month.
– from AAP
China moves to dump tariffs on $1b wine exports
As we just flagged: China has recommended dropping tariffs on Australian wine exports worth $1bn in an interim decision, AAP reports.
Beijing is reviewing the sanctions through a five-month process after the Albanese government agreed to suspend Australia’s dispute lodged with the World Trade Organization until 31 March. The Chinese government yesterday released its interim recommendation that the duties on wine are no longer necessary.
Beijing will announce its final decision later this month, but the move has sparked hope the tariffs will be fully removed.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, said the government had stabilised the relationship with China without compromising the nation’s values:
We have delivered on that commitment through calm and consistent dialogue. We continue to press for all remaining trade impediments to be removed.
The trade minister, Don Farrell, said the interim recommendation was a welcome development, and “vindicates the government’s preferred approach of resolving trade issues through dialogue rather than disputation”.
Welcome
Emily Wind
Good morning, and happy Wednesday – welcome back to Australia news live blog! Emily Wind here, I’ll bring you our rolling coverage today.
Making news overnight, China has recommended dropping tariffs on Australian wine exports worth $1bn in an interim decision.
As AAP reports, Beijing is reviewing the sanctions through a five-month process after the Albanese government agreed to suspend Australia’s dispute lodged with the World Trade Organization until 31 March.
The Chinese government yesterday released its interim recommendation that the duties on wine are no longer necessary. Beijing will announce its final decision later this month, but the move has sparked hope the tariffs will be fully removed.
We’ll have more on this shortly, but in the meantime, here is this great piece by Eliza Spencer from our rural network on the issue:
The search is continuing for seven people – including four children – missing amid the heavy rain in Western Australia. Yesterday, police said they held “serious welfare concerns” for the people missing hundreds of kilometres north-east of Kalgoorlie, as flooding has cut off road and rail links into the state.
We will bring you the latest on this as we hear further updates today.
See something that needs attention on the blog? You can get in touch via X, @emilywindwrites, or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.
Let’s get started.