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New Zealand mulls public interest test for anti-dumping penalties
WELLINGTON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government is weighing introducing a public interest test into its anti-dumping regime in a bid to help drive down costs in its housing market, Commerce Minister Craig Foss said Tuesday.
"Under the current system, there is no scope for considering the wider impact of anti-dumping duties on the economy. While anti- dumping duties provide relief for domestic industries, the additional costs imposed on imported goods may also reduce competition and result in higher prices for New Zealanders," Foss said in a statement.
"Adopting a public interest test would provide flexibility to consider whether an anti-dumping duty is actually in the best interests of the public," he said.
The proposal, which is open to public submissions until the end of this month, was focused on helping to sustain "rapid development projects," such as the rebuilding of earthquake- battered Christchurch and homes construction to alleviate a serious lack of affordable housing in the largest city of Auckland.
Finance Minister Bill English announced in the annual budget last month that duties and tariffs on imported construction materials would be lifted from July 1 as part of a government move to cool the country's overheating housing market, addressing concerns that huge house prices were posing a risk to financial stability and shutting first-home buyers out of the market.
A Productivity Commission inquiry into housing affordability had found building materials for "a typical modest family home" were 30 percent higher than in neighbor Australia, he said.
The budget included immediate suspension of anti-dumping duties of duties on plasterboard, wire nails and reinforcing steel bar for three years.
From July 1, a zero concessionary tariff, to be reviewed after five years, would cover around 90 percent of the materials in a new home and was expected to save around 3,500 NZ dollars (2,963 U. S. dollars) on the construction of a standard home.
June 3, 2014
Source: Global Post