A Note on Dumping, Interest Groups and the Public Policy Process

Abstract

As a signatory of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), Australia is permitted to impose duties on goods that have been imported below 'normal value' and have caused or threatened to cause 'material injury' to the domestic industry producing 'like goods'. There has been a recent push from various industries to increase protection for producers who have been injured by such practices. The Government is concerned, however, that harsher anti-dumping regulations will damage its position in the Uruguay Round of the GATT negotiations. As a result, a Senate Inquiry was established in 1990 to review Australia's anti-dumping legislation. The objective of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of the public policy process in addressing this issue. The analysis indicates that the process of devising new anti-dumping laws has failed to produce any significant improvements. A number of suggestions are made to make the policy more efficient and the process more effective.