The Government has passed legislation to move Australia’s safeguard inquiries from the Productivity Commission to the Anti-Dumping Commission, which will be renamed the Australian Trade Remedies Commission.
What does this mean?
The Australian Trade Remedies Commission will bring three areas of trade investigations together under one body:
- Dumping – when goods are imported and sold in Australia at unfairly low prices.
- Subsidies – where foreign government support may give imported goods an advantage.
- Safeguards – investigations into sudden increases in imports that cause, or threaten to cause, serious injury to an Australian industry.
The Commission will investigate safeguard matters referred to it by the Government and make recommendations on whether measures should be introduced.
Safeguard measures are designed to be temporary and can include tariffs where the relevant requirements are met.
Why does it matter to timber?
For the Australian timber industry, the change provides a specialist body to investigate concerns about imported products where there are allegations of dumping, subsidies or a sudden surge in imports causing serious injury to the local industry.
The Australian Forest Products Association has welcomed the establishment of the new body but said it will need adequate resources to handle its expanded responsibilities. The association has also called for industries affected by imports to have a clear pathway to bring cases to the Commission.
The changes come as the Australian timber industry is already involved in a separate anti-dumping matter concerning Russian wood used in laminated veneer lumber manufactured in China.
According to Forest and Wood Products Australia data cited in the report, declared imports of the product increased by 63% in one year, with mainland China supplying more than 69% of the volume.
What happens next?
The Anti-Dumping Commission will transition to the Australian Trade Remedies Commission, bringing dumping, subsidy and safeguard matters under the one specialist trade remedies body.
The change does not mean tariffs will automatically apply to imported timber or other products. Any safeguard action would require an investigation and must meet the relevant requirements.