Australian coal exporters may be exempted from China’s new tariffs, Australian media reported on October 21, following talks between Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey and his Chinese counterpart Lou Jiwei.<br /> <br /> China may waive the new tariffs on Australian coal if a free trade agreement between the two countries is struck, The Sydney Morning Herald cited Hockey as saying.<br /> <br /> The 3% tariff on metallurgical coal and 6% tariff on thermal coal announced this month surprised the Australian government and coal miners, as the country would be the most affected among the world’s producers of the fossil fuel.<br /> <br /> The rival Indonesia is not subject to the new tariffs under China’s free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Nations.<br /> <br /> Lou defended the tariffs as purely aimed at helping struggling Chinese coal producers and were in no way a negotiating tactic directed at the Australian free trade talks, the report said.<br /> <br /> Besides the import tariff, the Chinese government has rolled out a series of measures to shore up the beleaguered domestic coal sector, including scrapping government charges, ordering large miners to cut production, directing top utilities to reduce imports, etc.<br /> <br /> The new tariff, effective October 15, would lead to an additional cost of at least $3/t on imports of Australian thermal coal. This has caused some defaults on cargoes already booked and low buying interest from Chinese traders and utilities, sources said.<br /> <br /> To lure buyers, some Australian miners have lowered their offer prices for 5,500 Kcal/kg NAR coal to $54/t FOB New Castle, down $55-55.5/t from the start of month, traders said.<br /> <br /> <p> The Fenwei/Platts CCI8 index assessed imported 5,500 Kcal/kg NAR coal $0.20/t lower on day at $63.80/t on October 21, CFR south China ports, down $1.20/t on week.&nbsp; </p> <p style="text-align:center;"> <img src="/upfiles/news/image/20141022/20141022171954_8739.jpg" alt="" /> </p>