China mulls Australian coking coal ban

In the last week, China has reinstated import restrictions at some ports in the Bohai Sea region. These import limits differ from the 2018 caps by only targeting Australian metallurgical coals. With no official announcements, and a variety of approaches between ports, there is plenty of conjecture about what might happen and why. There is some anxiety that a worst case, country wide ban on Australian coals, might be a possibility. In this inform, we discuss the recent port restrictions, the reasons behind them, and the potential impacts. We also address the likelihood of a prolonged policy against Australian imports. Given the potential for harm felt by China's steel makers, we expect any long term constraints to be limited to customs clearance delays that allow greater government control over the location and rate of imports.