Australia defends anti-dumping rules

26/09/2011 12:00 - 410 Views

The Australian government says changes to anti-dumping rules will strike the right balance between the needs of Australian industry and the country's global trading partners.

'Dumping' is where a foreign company offloads imports onto the Australian market at a lower price than it would receive at home. Australian firms complain that the aim is to wipe their products off the market and then hike up the prices.

Unions and industry groups have been waging a fierce campaign against the dumping of imports by China, a practice they say is costing Australian jobs.

But critics say anti-dumping rules are nothing more than protectionism - shielding Australian businesses from competition, hurting other parts of the economy and depriving consumers of cheaper products.

September 21, 2011 21:41:02
Source: abc.net.au