Cheap foreign imports to be hit with tariffs to protect viability of Latrobe Valley’s Maryvale mill

The Latrobe Valley’s biggest employer will be shielded from cheap foreign imports after the Federal Government announced it would apply tariffs on A4 copy paper from four nations.

The Latrobe Valley’s biggest employer will be shielded from cheap foreign imports after the Federal Government announced it would apply tariffs on A4 copy paper from four nations.

The Latrobe Valley’s biggest employer will be shielded from cheap foreign imports after the Federal Government announced it would apply tariffs on A4 copy paper from four nations.

The anti-dumping duties to apply on imported paper from Finland, Korea, Russia and Slovakia range from 3.8 to 16.4 per cent.

The move is a bid to shore-up Australian Paper’s Maryvale Mill which has been under siege from below cost-price paper flooding into the local market.

Dumping occurs when the export price to Australia is below the selling price, or below the full cost of the product, in the country of export.

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Australian Paper’s chief operating officer Peter Williams said the decision had confirmed the ongoing threat of damage to local manufacturing from dumped copy paper.

“The Australian copy paper market has been impacted for a number of years by the importation of dumped product that not only puts Australian jobs at risk but brings into question the social responsibility of parties engaged in this activity,” he said.

Maryvale Mill near Morwell is the largest private employer in the Latrobe Valley.

He said the commission “must continue to keep a close eye” on imports coming into Australia to ensure dumping measures were not circumvented allowing copy paper to enter the market below

a fair pricing level.

“Importers should also be discouraged from sourcing copy paper from new countries willing to sell into our market at dumped prices.”

The mill announced in February this year more than 1000 jobs would be created in the Latrobe Valley to build a $600 million power plant that will turn hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste into power.

Australian Paper, which manufactures Reflex, welcomed the commission’s decision to investigate in March this year.

Industry Minister Karen Andrews said the decision followed a significant investigation and would help level the playing field for Australia’s paper industry.

“This Anti-Dumping Commission’s investigation involved five countries and uncovered a level of dumping that caused injury to Australia’s sole producer of A4 copy paper, Australian Paper,” Ms Andrews said.

“These duties will assist Australian Paper to more strongly compete with overseas manufacturers in a fairer economic environment.”