How the US-China trade agreement and COVID-19 investigation influenced China’s new barley tariffs

In 2018, China began a barley investigation in response to Australia imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel and aluminium.

Ahead of its original date to announce findings, China has now imposed tariffs of up to 80.5% (a “dumping margin” of up to 73.6% and a “subsidy margin” of up to 6.9%) on Australian barley for next five years. But is this about more than just trade?