Australia to Join WTO Meeting on China-EU Trade Dispute
- January 31, 2022
- Posted by: Quatro Strategies
- Category: Politics
Australia is willing to participate in consultations about the trade dispute between China and the European Union, which was launched by the EU at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The EU accuses China of discriminatory trade practices against Lithuania, an EU member, and threatening the integrity of the single market.
China has imposed a series of formal and informal sanctions against Lithuania, which decided to open a Taiwanese embassy in the nation’s capital, Vilnius. China, which considers Taiwan as part of Chinese territory, downgraded ties with Lithuania and has pushed multinational companies to cut ties with the Baltic nation in order to be able to keep operating in China.
Chinese restrictions include not clearing Lithuanian goods in Chinese customs, rejecting import applications from Lithuania and pressing EU firms to exclude Lithuanian content from supply chains when exporting to China.
Relations between Australia and China have also become tense after Australian government prohibited Huawei from taking part in the country’s 5G infrastructure, implemented tougher laws against foreign political interference and called for an independent committee to research the origins of COVID-19. Australia is China’s top trade partner.
Beijing, in response, has frozen ministerial contacts and imposed tariffs on numerous Australian imports such as coal, beef, wine and barley.
Subscribe to Top Insights Today
The Executive Newsletter -Top Insights Today- puts global business events in perspective through special insights
Join the ranks of global executives and subscribe to Top Insights Today
Top Insights Today covers insights on energy, clean-tech, oil&gas, mining, rare earths, defense, aviation, infrastructure, manufacturing, electrical vehicles, big-tech, finance and politics of business
Read more insights
European Steel, Wind Industries Want EU to Expand Critical Minerals List
The European steel and wind industry associations Eurofer and WindEurope issued a joint statement on Thursday urging the European Union to improve access to critical minerals for clean energy in its upcoming Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), including materials that are not already included, like glass fibre. The EU is set to unveil the CRMA on March 8 to secure the bloc’s supply of raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, manganese and rare earths needed for energy transition technologies.
Chileans Overwhelmingly Voted Against New Constitution
Chileans rejected the proposed new constitution on Sunday’s referendum, with only 38% voting yes. While 80% of Chileans voted to draft a new constitution in 2020, 62% rejected the proposed text with almost all of the ballots counted. The approve campaign conceded defeat late on Sunday but stated that the mandate to draft a new constitution remains in place. Campaign spokeswoman Cariola said they are committed to create “conditions to channel that popular will and the path that leads us to a new constitution”
GM Invests in Canadian Battery Recycling Company to Secure Lithium Supply
General Motors (GM) invests in Canadian battery recycling firm Lithion Recycling to accelerate efforts to secure lithium supply. Although the financial details have not been revealed, the agreement is set to create a partnership between the world’s second largest automaker and the Quebec-based company to pursue a circular battery ecosystem using Lithion’s technology. The companies said an analysis show that Lithion’s technology has a recovery rate of 95%. Since it uses renewable energy, the company’s technology and operations is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 75% and water usage by over 90% compared to mining battery materials.