Italy and EU call on Australia to drop dumping inquiry

The Government of Italy (GoI) and the EU have called on the Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC) to terminate its investigation into SPC Global’s allegations that Italy is dumping tinned tomatoes on the Australian market at reduced and subsidised prices, causing material injury to the local industry. GoI said it had serious concerns about the cases chosen by the commission, arguing that a “substantial” part of the investigation was based on programs that were “countervailable in different legal systems and relate to distinct services and products”. The EU said the information requested by the ADC was “manifestly excessive and not necessary for determining any potential impact on Australian producers of allegedly subsidised imports of Italian preserved tomatoes in the investigation period”. The ADC’s questionnaire targeted 84 programs and 99 companies that the EU said required “very” detailed information going back decades, “that in no way seems necessary or that could reasonably be made ...