Dumping and predatory trade

Importers should be ashamed, says FairPlay founder

The importers’ campaign for another delay in imposing anti-dumping duties included a lengthy piece in the financial newspaper Business Day by Paul Matthew, head of the importers association AMIE. His claims were exaggerated, and his argument were full of holes. FairPlay had harsh words for him.

FairPlay founder Francois Baird, said Matthew was wrong to class dumped imports as ordinary imports, and wrong to pretend that anti-dumping duties were “punitive tariffs”.

“Not true. Dumping – importing at unfairly low prices to capture market share – is a contravention of international trade rules and anti-dumping duties are a specific counter to such dumping, which harms local producers and costs local jobs.

“That damage was investigated, proven and accepted by trade minister Ebrahim Patel a year ago. It is now time for him to impose the duties and provide the protection against unfair trade for which local chicken farmers have been waiting for 12 long months,” Baird said.

It was also not true that the anti-dumping duties would result in high retail price increases. Baird referred Matthew to the Genesis Analytics study that had shown the maximum impact could average 2.5%, and in reality any price increase would be far lower because of various competitive forces.

Matthew pretended that the European Union will be so angry at the imposition of duties that they will retaliate.

“Really? Anti-dumping duties have been in force since 2015 against Germany and the Netherlands, and Britain when it was an EU member, and there’s not been a hint of trade retaliation,” Bard said.

“He pretends that the United States will be so angry that it, too will retaliate. This has nothing to do with the US, which already has a substantial annual quota free of anti-dumping duties.

“Shorn of credible arguments, Matthew urges Patel to take a political decision in favour of Brazil, and Brazilian workers, not one in the interests of the local industry, local jobs or local consumers.

“He should be ashamed,” Baird concluded.