Third stage of Australian anti-dumping legislation to help local manufacturers
The Australian Government has announced the introduction of the third stage of legislation to implement anti-dumping reforms in Australia.
Dumping occurs when goods are imported into the domestic market at below production cost or through unlawful subsidies from other foreign governments. Australian food manufacturers are hit hard by these practices.
The Government’s purpose in reforming Australia’s anti-dumping system is to improve access to the anti-dumping system for Australian businesses, and ensure that anti-dumping investigations can be resolved more quickly.
The third stage of legislation makes four substantive reforms to the anti-dumping system, as follows:
– It gives Australian Customs and Border Protection, or the Minister for Home Affairs, the power to make a determination as to the level and extent of any subsidies provided in relation to a product where adequate information about the product has not been provided by the company or country of origin;
– It removes a limitation on the inclusion of profit when deciding a ‘normal value’ of a product;
– It removes the need for a separate review of anti-dumping measures when they occur close to another similar inquiry; and
– It allows the Minister to apply additional dumping duty in the interim while cases are being investigated.
The Australian Workers Union’s National Secretary, Paul Howes, said the reforms to the anti-dumping system will provide important short-term relief to smaller Australian manufacturers.
Mr Howes said, “Our dollar at record heights combined with cheap products being dumped on our shores from places like China is a lethal combination for our local manufacturers. The system needed to be improved to ensure that anti-dumping investigations can be resolved quickly and effectively.”
The fourth and final stage of legislation to implement the anti-dumping reforms (announced in June 2011) is scheduled to be introduced in the next Parliamentary sittings.
