The Trade Minister Andrew Robb says he hopes Beijing's decision to put tariffs on coal imports will not delay the Government's planned free trade deal with China.

China's Ministry of Finance said in a statement that import tariffs for anthracite coal and coking coal will return to 3 per cent, while non-coking coal will have an import tax of 6 per cent.

Mr Robb said the Government still hopes to secure a free trade deal with China by the end of the year, but acknowledges the tariff announcement is a bump in the road.

"It's something that we need to now inject quite significantly into the Free Trade Agreement," he said.

He said it will reduce returns and may place higher cost mines under pressure.

Mr Robb said he could not predict whether it will see Australian mining operations close or jobs lost.

Australia and Russia, among the top coal exporters into China, are expected to be hit by the new tariffs.

It is not clear if exporters in Indonesia, the second-biggest shipper of the fuel to China, will be subject to the tariffs since a free trade agreement between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) means Beijing has promised the signatory nations zero import tariffs for some resources.

China had set import taxes for all coals, with the exception of coking coal, at 6 per cent prior to 2005 before they were gradually reduced and scrapped in 2007. Coking coal import taxes were set at 3 percent before being abolished in 2005.

Briquettes, a fuel manufactured from coal, and other fuels will see their import tariffs return to 5 per cent.

Import tariffs result of lobbying from China's top miners

The latest efforts to limit imports comes after nearly a year of intense lobbying by China's top miners for Beijing to stem the flood of cheap supplies that have inundated the domestic market and dragged local prices to a six-year low.

The China National Coal Association, which had submitted proposals to reduce domestic output, reduce tax burden and regulate imports, had urged Beijing to act swiftly to support the besieged sector, where 70 per cent of the miners were making losses and more than half were owing wages.

China said last month it will ban the import and local sale of coal with high ash and sulphur content starting from 2015 in a bid to tackle air pollution.

But Australian miners were left unscathed by that regulation as the most stringent standards did not apply to power plants.

While speculation has swirled about the resumption of the import tariffs since late last year, some industry participants were surprised by the high rates and the types of coal that were included.

"Having a 6 per cent import tax for thermal coal is very high and that will easily snuff out any price advantage overseas suppliers can offer," a Shanghai-based coal trader said.

"It is also puzzling that they have resumed tariffs for coking coal, since China has a shortage of quality coking coal."

China, also the world's top coal producer and consumer, imported 327.1 million tonnes of coal in 2013, accounting for about 10 per cent of the country's total consumption.

ABC/Reuters