LABOR TRAPPED BY ITS OWN DISTORTIONS ON ANTI-DUMPING

07-November-2011

The Coalition today released its plan to provide Australia with a vigorous and fair dinkum anti-dumping regime.

But, as usual, Trade Minister Craig Emerson and Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor are not interested in good policy, even when the Coalition’s position is not only fully sanctioned by the WTO but was also once targeted as an aspiration by Labor.

It is a fact that this Labor Government has reduced the funding to Customs in every budget over which they have presided. With ever diminishing resources to address the serious, market distorting, problems associated with dumping, it is hardly surprising that Dr Emerson and Mr O’Connor are exercising breathless frustration over Labor’s failures and lashing out at everyone but themselves.

Section 2 of the Coalition’s Plan to Strengthen Australia’s Anti-Dumping Regime states:

“The Department of Industry will make ‘preliminary affirmative determinations’ where appropriate in anti-dumping cases that have lasted beyond 60 days. Preliminary affirmative determinations are expressly allowed under Article 7 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement and do not breach Australia’s free trade obligations.”

In the Government’s own document ‘Streamlining Australia’s Anti-Dumping System’ (June 2011) Labor clearly echoes support for changes in this area:

“The WTO (allows) provisional measures to be applied 60 days after the initiation of an investigation.

On average, the Branch has applied provisional measures around day 140 of the investigation, with the earliest at day 80 … stakeholders have expressed concern that this does not adequately prevent injury to Australian manufacturers and producers during the investigation, particularly given the length of time it can take to bring an application for anti-dumping or countervailing measures. This is because the Branch has usually waited until completion of verification visits to exporters before making a PAD …

By day 60 (the earliest WTO consistent date a PAD can be considered) the Branch will usually have verified the domestic industry’s data, and will have received data from the exporters.

If the data submitted by the exporters shows evidence of dumping or subsidisation, this may be sufficient evidence on which to base a PAD prior to verification.”

Both Ministers have tried to pretend today that the Coalition’s position contravenes the WTO – but they stand condemned by their own words from June. 

The Labor Party should be applauding the Coalition for having the bottle to implement anti-dumping changes with which they actually agree but which they don’t have the courage, ability and determination to deliver.