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 available”.
For the GoI, responding to all the programs and companies by the stipulated date (21 November) would be “particularly burdensome” for Italian authorities. It also said some of the programs selected by the ADC were outdated and not in force.
“The Australian authorities require the GoI to provide a list by industry and by region of the companies that have received benefits in the year the provision of benefits was approved and in each of the years 2020 to 2024.
“As almost one third of these programs has been approved over 25 years ago, with some schemes dating back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, it is impossible for the GoI to provide most of the information related to the approval of such schemes,” it said.
The investigation continues.
