A.H.I. tile wrangle settled by price rise

Press, 5 July 1983, Page 3

A.H.I. tile wrangle settled by price rise

NZPA staff correspondent Sydney The Australian Government has suspended its dumping and subsidy actions against Alex Harvey Industries, after the New Zealand company agreed to raise the prices of its roofing tiles. The Australian decision ends an action which i started 15 months ago and j means the chip-coated

metal tiles will now be exported at a price that is “non-injurious” to Australian manufacturers. The action began with a complaint by Australian companies that the tiles were being dumped in Australia. Investigation by the Australian Customs Department concluded there was “an element of dumping” in New Zealand’s export subsidies.

Under the provisions of the Nafta and later the C.E.R. trade agreements, a period of consultation was required, and the department said this was prolonged, making the case one of thejongest the Australian Customs had had to deal with. The New Zealand company had agreed to raise its prices to a level that was not harmful to Australian manufacturers, a department official said. “As a result we have suspended actions against the company. The price increase can be reviewed by either party from time to time, but if there is any breach, the action will be re-opened,” he said. The new price applies from last Thursday, and while that action has finished, it has been replaced by another — against refrigerated containers. The Customs Department issued notice on Friday that it will investigate complaints from a Brisbanebased engineering company about a $2 million tender for 50 refrigerated freight containers, won by a New Zealand firm.

The Brisbane company alleges that the New Zealand containers will be heavily subsidised, and the company manager has claimed that the loss of the tender was directly responsible for the laying-off of 16 of his 34 staff last December.

In yet another dumping row, the Australian Government is expected to accept an offer from New Zealand and Dutch tyre manufacturers to raise the prices of their passenger vehicle tyres after a series of dumping complaints.