Barley is tactical weapon as China
takes on Australia over dumping
China's so-called anti-dumping action against
Australia is really an action against Australia's overuse of anti-dumping
provisions. Barley producers are caught in the crossfire.
This week
China launched its first ever anti-dumping investigation
against Australia, targeting barley exports.
Australia¡¯s
barley industry is upset because it doesn¡¯t
believe it has been dumping.
But that isn¡¯t
the point. China¡¯s main concern isn¡¯t barley, and it isn¡¯t the dumping of
Australian products. It¡¯s
Australia¡¯s use of anti-dumping against China.
Australia¡¯s use of anti-dumping action has been on the rise over the past decade.
Most of the actions, and most of the eventual anti-dumping measures, have been
aimed at China.
While China¡¯s steel industry has been the main target, many other Chinese
industries have also been targeted;
including aluminium products, clear float
glass, stainless steel sinks, road wheels, solar panels or modules, A4 copy
paper, and railway wheels.
Of the 30 measures
currently in force,
18 apply to China.
However, what¡¯s
been annoying China more has been Australia¡¯s treatment of it as a non-market
economy in
anti-dumping investigations.
The designation
flies in the face of a commitment Australia made as long ago
as 2005 to
treat China
as a market economy as a precondition for the negotiation of the
China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
It means that the costs and prices actually charged in China aren¡¯t used to
determine whether or not it has been