Trade dumping should become punishable by law in South Africa and internationally, according to FairPlay founder Francois Baird.
In an interview with the Cape Town radio station Cape Talk, Baird said dumping contravened international trade rules, but it was not illegal. FairPlay hoped to change that, because dumping was a rule of law issue.
“Dumping should be against the law, and it should be punishable by law,” he said. “The international system has to change and we hope this year to get expert advice on how to go about it.”
Dumping was a scourge which hurt small producers the most. Jobs were being exported from South Africa to Brazil, the European Union and the United States.
“These big markets have to come to the party now and address the problem. They can’t wash their hands of it,” he said. In addition, African countries needed to act together against dumping. “We need to make use of Africa’s billion consumers to say stop this scourge”.
Stopping dumping would require people, government departments and countries to work together. “The business community should take a look at the morality of dumping and stop doing so,” he concluded.
