In a boost to Australian paper manufacturing, the Federal Government has imposed duties on copy paper imports from four countries after finding the countries have been dumping A4 copy paper onto the Australian market. The Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Kevin Andrews, accepted the findings of the Anti-Dumping Commission that Finland, Russia, Korea and Slovakia have been exporting under-priced, cheap paper to Australia. Source: Philip Hopkins for Timberbiz
Dumping occurs when goods exported to Australia are priced below the selling price, or below the full cost of the product, in the country of export.
The recommended anti-dumping duties range from 3.8% to 16.4% on imported paper from Finland, Korea, Russia and Slovakia.
The Anti-Dumping Commission acted on complaints from Australian Paper, the country’s largest paper producer. Peter Williams, Chief Operating Officer at Australian Paper, thanked the ADC and the Minister for their rigorous investigation.
“By imposing dumping duties on imports from these four countries under investigation, the ADC has confirmed the ongoing threat of damage to local manufacturing from dumped copy paper,” he said.
“The Australian copy paper market has been impacted for a number of years by the importation of dumped product that not only puts Australian jobs at risk but brings into question the social responsibility of parties engaged in this activity.”
Mr Williams said the action would enable AP’s continued investment in the future of Latrobe Valley manufacturing. The Gippsland forestry supply chain delivers more than 750,000 cubic metres of hardwood per year to AP.
The company supports more than 5700 jobs in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley where it has been established for more than 80 years and is one of the region’s leading employers.
The Chief Executive of the Australian Forest Products Association, Ross Hampton, said the decision was a big win for fair trade and a big step towards a level playing field for domestic producers.
“This decision sends a strong message to overseas manufacturers that Australia is not a soft target for under-priced products which threaten the operation of domestic manufacturers and the thousands of local jobs they support,” he said.
Mr Williams said that industry and the ADC must continue to keep a close eye on imports coming into Australia to ensure dumping measures were not circumvented, allowing copy paper to enter the market below the injurious pricing level.
“Given the prevalence of this activity in recent years, the ADC should remain ready to investigate and take appropriate action to maintain fair competition in the Australian market. Importers should also be discouraged from sourcing copy paper from new countries willing to sell into our market at dumped prices,” he said.
“Australian Paper will continue to monitor the Australian market into the future to secure the paper manufacturing industry and local jobs. We encourage consumers to consider the country of origin and the damage caused by imports sold into our market at dumped prices when buying paper.”
The ADC, after an earlier complaint from AP, found in 2017 that copy paper from Brazil, China, Indonesia and Thailand had been dumped in Australia.
