Import guarantees follow preliminary dumping finding on Chinese windows and doors
Importers face financial guarantees of up to 73.3% while the industry minister considers whether duties should apply.
Importers of Chinese aluminium windows and doors must provide financial guarantees from 15 October after a preliminary investigation found dumping had harmed Australian manufacturers.
The Australian Trade Remedies Commission set the guarantees at between 5.3 per cent and 73.3 per cent of product value, depending on the exporter. They cover duties that could become payable later, rather than constituting a final decision to impose them.
The commission found dumping by all but one Chinese exporter during the investigation period. It calculated dumping margins of between 5.3 per cent and 70.4 per cent and found some exporters had also received government subsidies in China.
It put the Australian market's value at about A$2.8 billion during that period, with Chinese imports representing 19 per cent of sales. The commission estimated Australian producers had lost about A$350 million because of price undercutting by dumped or subsidised Chinese imports.
The investigation followed an application from Ventora Group and the Australian Glass and Window Association. The association welcomed the guarantees, saying the industry had been under significant pressure from dumped imports.
UNSW international economic law professor Zhou Weihuan said importers could factor the guarantees into prices, potentially raising construction costs. Master Builders Australia acting chief executive Melissa Byrne said the group would examine the findings, while warning about measures that increase building costs.
The commission proposes recommending duties to Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres. Its final recommendations are due by 16 December, with the minister's decision expected within 30 days of receiving them. The products currently enter tariff-free under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
