China’s coal ban would breach WTO Rules, says Australian PM

Australian Prime minister says China would be breaching the bilateral free trade agreement between the two counties as well as World Trade organizations rules if it bans Australian Coal

Australia’s Prime minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday said that China would be breaching the bilateral free trade agreement as well as the rules of the World Trade Organization if they ban Australian coal.

The Prime minister was responding to the report published in the Chinese newspaper Global Times, which said that the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission has recently allowed power plants to import coal without restrictions except for coal from Australia.

• UK breaks its own record in 2019: for the first time it generates more electricity without CO2 than with fossil fuels
• Hong Kong condemns the US for its decision to terminate and suspend 3 bilateral agreements
• 21 ‘terabytes’ of open source data buried in arctic mine for future generations
• A security breach in TikTok allowed to manipulate user data
• China calls on the US to correct its mistakes to end diplomatic tension

He said he is treating this report as a media speculation, as the Chinese government has not clarified its position on the matter yet.

Coal is Australia’s one of the most lucrative export.

China is one of the biggest importers of coal from Australia. But after Australia’s call for an independent inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, the bilateral ties between the two counties have deteriorated.

Australia was close to finalizing a complaint to the World Trade Organization when China banned the import of barley from Australia last month. Now with speculations of a coal ban, the ties between the two countries are bound to deteriorate further.

• Neuroscience Breakthrough: Study Pinpoints Brain Activity That Helps Prevent Us From Getting Lost
• Brief Anger Hampers Blood Vessel Function Leading to Increased Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke – New Study
• New Blood Test Pinpoints Future Stroke Risk – Study Identifies Inflammatory Molecules as Key Biomarker
• Enceladus: A Potential Haven for Extraterrestrial Life in its Hidden Ocean Depths
• New Experiment: Dark Matter Is Not As ‘DARK’ As All We Think

Australian Trade Minister, Simon Birmingham, while talking about the reports on the coal ban said:

“We see these reports and obviously are deeply troubled by them.”