Australian wine spent three difficult years locked out of China. Anti-dumping tariffs of up to 218.4 percent, imposed in March 2021, made most Australian bottles unsellable on the mainland. That chapter closed in March 2024, when Beijing scrapped the duties and trade resumed. For brands weighing a return to Tmall, the question now is not whether the door is open, it is how to walk back through it well.
What actually changed
China’s Ministry of Commerce ended both the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on Australian wine on 29 March 2024, following a review requested after the two governments repaired their broader trade relationship. Import volumes had collapsed to almost nothing during the tariff years. By 2024 they rebounded to roughly 34 million litres, and held at a similar level through 2025. Producers such as Penfolds moved quickly to rebuild distribution once the duties fell away. As of mid-2026, there is no indication that new tariffs are being planned or reviewed. The zero-tariff footing agreed under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is back in force, and this is the baseline brands should plan around.
The catch: the shelf moved on
Tariff removal solved the trade problem, not the market problem. While Australian wine was absent, French wine consolidated its lead and Chilean wine, which enters China duty-free under its own trade agreement, grew its share sharply. China’s overall wine consumption has also been falling for several years, as younger drinkers move toward baijiu cocktails, whisky and low-alcohol RTDs. Re-entering Tmall today means competing for a smaller pool of buyers against rivals who kept their listings, reviews and search rankings live throughout the years Australia was shut out. A brand cannot simply relist an old flagship store and expect the old sales curve to return.
Where the opportunity is real
The good news is that Australian wine still carries strong brand memory in China. Shoppers who bought Penfolds, Jacob’s Creek or Yellow Tail before 2021 largely remember the category positively, and price-quality perception for Australian reds remains favourable compared with some European labels. On Tmall specifically, this means a returning brand is not starting from zero on trust, only on visibility. The near-term opportunity sits in three places: reactivating dormant flagship stores with updated product pages and fresh reviews, using Tmall’s livestreaming and content tools to rebuild search ranking quickly rather than relying on organic discovery, and targeting the mid-range price band, where Chilean wine has been winning on value but where Australian quality claims still resonate. Premium labels with an existing following, rather than unknown mass-market brands, are best placed to move first.
Is now the right time
Cautiously, yes. The trade barrier is gone and shows no sign of returning, which removes the biggest risk that kept brands away for three years. But this is a rebuild, not a relaunch into a waiting market. Brands that treat the return as a full re-entry, with a proper Tmall store audit, updated compliance documents, new content and a realistic budget for regaining search visibility, stand to recover share faster than competitors expect. Brands that simply reopen the old store and wait will likely find the shelf has moved on without them. For a fuller picture of who is buying wine in China today and what they want, our guide to 48 million Chinese wine lovers covers the wider category in more depth.
Sources: China ends anti-dumping tariffs on Australian wine, RFA Mandarin; Australian wine returns to China, trade recovery report, Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce; China lifts tariffs on Australian wine, CNBC
Matt Sun advises wine and beverage brands on China market entry at Ecommerce China Agency. He has guided producers through Tmall store launches, reactivations and compliance reviews across shifting trade conditions. Thinking about bringing your wine brand back to Tmall, or launching for the first time? Get in touch with our team to talk through the plan.
