Australia will file a formal case against China with the World Trade Organization over its "unfair" imposition of anti-dumping duties on its barley exports.
Australia trade minister Simon Birmingham said it was preparing documents and evidence.
The plan to file a formal case comes just a day after the China government imposed provisional anti-dumping taxes on all Australia wine.
China imposed the duties on Australia wine imports Saturday. The duties range from 107.1% to 212.1% depending on the quantity and the supplying company.
"We are working through exactly when and making sure we have the evidence lined up... [Including the] accumulation of instances from China of adverse trade decisions against Australia," Birmingham said.
Birmingham said Australia had always abided by the rules in terms of its approach to foreign investments. He added that Australia would try to resolve all disputes through other means but ultimately "only China can choose to reverse them."
"These are Chinese decisions, China has chosen to apply them on Australia, and only China can choose to reverse them," Birmingham said.
Australia initially raised its concerns over China's imposition of duties on its barley exports during a meeting with the organization's Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices late last month. Australian government officials slammed China's decision to launch an investigation on allegations that the country was dumping cheap barley into its market.
China's Ministry of Commerce accused Australia back in May of selling "undervalued and subsidized" barley to the country. Its investigation eventually resulted in the imposition of a combined 80.5% import tariff on all Australian barley. The duties were a 73.6% anti-dumping tax and a 6.9% countervailing tax.
Australia contested China's findings and said that the entire investigation was "improperly initiated." Australian officials added that the products that were tested were not properly identified and investigators knowingly neglected to review any information submitted by Australian producers.
After it had imposed the added duties, China immediately opened its doors to other suppliers, including those in the U.S., suggesting that it could easily replace Australia as its main supplier.
