Page 12 - Australian Pork Newspaper

-dumping system work for farmers
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Making Australia’s anti
THE presence in our market of subsidised pork from overseas is a longstanding concern of Australian pig farmers.
Our producers do not benefit from subsidies or direct support programs, so why should we have to compete with imported product that has received government support in its country of origin?
It’s just not fair.
When these products are sold in Australia at prices below those of the home market, the product is deemed to have been ‘dumped’ – and the conse- quences can be severe for local producers.
Australia’s anti-dump- ing system has been set up to provide relief to lo- cal industries that have been injured by dumped imported product.
The government can, if dumping has been deemed to have occurred, levy additional taxes or apply other measures in response to the dumped product.
The World Trade Or- ganization’s Anti-Dump- ing Agreement provides the basic framework for Australia’s domestic anti- dumping arrangements, setting some guidelines around how to identify
Policy
dumping and which coun- termeasures can be used.
But beyond this, every market maintains its own set of anti-dumping rules, with specific method- ologies to identify and measure dumping and the extent of injury to local industries.
When an Australian in- dustry believes it is being injured by dumped over- seas product, it can re- quest the Australian Anti- Dumping Commission initiate an investigation.
Recently, the steel in- dustry has been very ac- tive (and successful) in requesting anti-dumping relief.
The investigations and actions are targeting mainly Asian suppliers that have subsidised their way to massive over-pro-
by ANDREW ROBERTSON Senior Policy Analyst
duction, creating a need for excess steel products to be removed from their markets.
The dumped steel ends up in markets like Aus- tralia, causing great harm to local manufacturers.
Many pig producers be- lieve the Australian pork industry has been injured by dumped product from North America and Eu- rope – and they may be right – but they wonder why Australian Pork Lim- ited has not sought to initiate an anti-dumping investigation.
The reason is that, under the current interpretation of the legislation enabling Australia’s anti-dumping system, the pig production industry is not the same industry being affected by dumped pork products.
Seems counterintuitive, right?
But let me unpack how the thinking works.
Let’s say Australia is importing pork middles and legs from Europe at dumped prices.
Only the domestic in-
dustry that makes the ex- act same product (middles and/or legs) is eligible to apply for anti-dumping relief.
As pig producers do not technically manufacture middles and/or legs, they produce full pigs, it is the processors that are rec- ognised as the Australian industry that produces the same product.
Pig farmers are excluded from forming part of the affected industry under the current arrangements.
Obviously, the idea that pig farmers are not part of the industry that produces pork cuts is nonsense, but that is the way the system works.
To compound the prob- lem, the very processors eligible to seek relief from dumped products are the least likely to be dam- aged by them, as 1) they are importing the cheap products themselves for use; and 2) they can pass on any depressed prices to the Australian farmers.
APL has been aware of and frustrated by this problem for many years.
Our previous attempts to apply on behalf of in- dustry for anti-dumping investigations into subsi- dised products from Eu- rope and America have been stymied before they could even begin, as our producers are not seen as having any standing in the matter.
I made this point clear to Mr Dale Seymour, the Anti-Dumping Commis- sioner, when he spoke to pig producers in Toowoo-
mba in March this year. Mr Seymour told that group he agreed there were structural problems with the system that dis- advantaged Australia’s
primary producers.
As a result of this meet-
ing, APL asked the Na- tional Farmers’ Federa- tion, through its member- ship on the International Trade Remedies Forum (a body that advises gov- ernment on anti-dumping policy), to seek a review of the definitions of primary industries that are eligible to apply for anti-dumping relief.
The purpose of this re- view is to confirm the flaw in the governing leg- islation and recommend measures to address it.
APL believes this will enhance the fairness of the system, providing av- enues for the wider agri- cultural sector to access reasonable and appropri- ate trade remedies.
APL’s discussion paper on the proposed review is currently under considera- tion by the Forum.
We will keep you up- dated as it progresses.
But it is important to note that even if we are successful in changing the legislation or its in- terpretation, that is not a guaranteed pathway to anti-dumping relief.
Indeed, it only means we are eligible to request the ADC commence an investigation.
The results of any anti- dumping investigation are another matter altogether.
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Recipe
Prep time 10 min Cook time 40 min Serves 6
Italian pot roasted pork scotch with potato fennel and tomato
INGREDIENTS
• 1.5-1.8kg pork scotch roast, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, halved
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 400g can tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup white wine or chicken
stock
• 3 bulbs fennel, washed and
halved
• 10 chat potatoes, halved
• Chopped parsley to serve METHOD
1. Trimporkroastwellandseason with salt and pepper.
2. Heatoilinalargedeeppanover
medium heat and add the garlic to the pan. Brown the pork roast well on each side.
3. Addtheherbstothepanalong with the tomatoes and white wine. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes.
4. Removelidandturnroast,add the fennel bulbs and potatoes to the pot cover and cook for a further 20-25 minutes until potatoes are tender.
5. Removeroastandallowtorest prior to slicing. Serve with fennel and potatoes and a little of the cookingliquid.Garnishedwith finely chopped parsley and crusty bread.
For more pork recipes, visit pork.com.au
Page 12 – Australian Pork Newspaper, June 2018
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