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Australian government to fast track steel, aluminium dumping probe

Australia has asked its anti-dumping regulator to fast track advice on whether swelling shipments of steel and aluminium from some Asian countries, including China, have unfairly hurt local businesses, industry minister Christopher Pyne said.

China is the world's top manufacturer and consumer of steel and aluminium, but a huge overcapacity means more of these commodities are being shipped out of the country and sold, according to other producing nations, at unfairly low prices.

"We believe in free trade, but we also believe in fair trade. And the rules and the laws are in place around anti-dumping to protect Australian businesses from being injured when they are being dumped upon from overseas," said Pyne.

"I'm quite prepared to ... flex that muscle when it is necessary to do so to protect Australian business," Pyne said at a media briefing on Thursday.

Australia's anti-dumping commission will advise by April 4 on cases including whether Chinese steel, and Taiwanese or South Korean aluminium products may have received subsidies, or unfairly altered their product mix to dodge duties, he said.

Some 80 percent of the commission's investigations involve aluminium and steel, he added.

Recently, European Union regulators opened three anti-dumping probes into Chinese steel products and imposed new duties on imports.

China has, however, said that claims it was dumping steel in Europe should be put to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and that it was willing to discuss with WTO members "to create a fair, just and predictable international market environment".

Last year, major aluminium producer Rusal raised China's swelling exports with the Australian government, while U.S aluminium makers also lobbied regulators over subsidised Chinese imports.

Minister Pyne said in Australia, "where the anti-dumping commission (ADC) has investigated and found injury to Australian business, we have applied duties".

The government has applied 41 measures on imports of certain steel products, from countries such as China, Korea and Taiwan, some of which are also produced by Australia's Arrium and Bluescope Steel, he said.

Arrium, which posted a half-year loss this week, has told the ADC that unfair trade from dumped Chinese steel reinforcing bar and steel rod in coil was hurting its business. Arrium shares fell 45.8 percent on Thursday.

"The ADC is one of the toughest commissions for anti-dumping in the world, we have some of the toughest laws. We have been accused in the past of being slow, but ... we've taken the necessary actions to make sure that we can quickly work to protect Australian business." (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: Reuters