Australia to probe China aluminium dumping

Australia yesterday launched a probe into alleged aluminium dumping by China, risking deepening tensions between the two trade partners after a massive resources deal went sour. The Customs and Border Protection Service said local Australian aluminium company Capral Limited had lodged an application on behalf of the local industry claiming China had dumped and subsidised certain extrusion products. "The application alleges that the goods have been exported to Australia from China at prices less than their normal value [and] that countervailable subsidies have been received," Customs said in a public notice. Customs said the Australian aluminium industry allegedly suffered material injury through lost sales and market share, price undercutting and suppression, increasing local production costs as a result of the Chinese exports. Chinese imports represent more than 30 percent of the Australian aluminium extrusion market, with more than 300 Chinese companies exporting the product into Australia in 2008, Capral said. A similar probe was launched in December into China-made carbon weld steel pipe, prompting Beijing to warn that the "wrong signals of trade protectionism" could jeopardise bilateral trade talks. Resources tensions between the two nations have mounted recently, with Rio Tinto earlier this month rejecting a 19.5 billion dollar tie-up with Chinalco in favour of a rights issue and joint iron ore venture with rival BHP Billiton. Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean said the Rio snub was an "eye-opener for the Chinese and their state-owned enterprises", while Beijing said it would consider an anti-monopoly review of the BHP deal. China is Australia's second-largest trading partner, accounting for 15 percent of total exports, mostly raw materials. Free trade talks between the two countries are progressing slowly, despite a November commitment by the leadership of each to fast-track the process, which stalled over agriculture, services and investment issues. The extrusion probe will examine goods exported to Australia between July 2008 and June this year. source:www.macaudailytimesnews.com