Defend jobs from unfair traders

Published in The Daily Telegraph on Friday, 3 October 2025.

Australian manufacturing is globally competitive, but it depends upon fair dinkum trade rules to make sure competition is fair. I have worked in and around manufacturing and engineering for more than 30 years as a trade union official and Labor senator and I know how good our manufacturing sector is.

Those Australian firms that export to the world tend to provide higher wages and better jobs, so free and fair trade rules are in the interest of good jobs and investment in suburban and regional Australia.

Unfair trading practices from competitors undermine those jobs and investments. Australia is a trading nation that plays by the rules. But because of a rise in protectionist policies as well as subsidies and other measures that cause overcapacity in manufacturing, the global trade playing field is tilted unfairly against Australia.

Dumping is a pretty dry economic term, but it's a serious problem and it can undermine jobs and industry. It means the sale of overseas goods into the Australian market at below-cost prices, undercutting local suppliers. It is not fair for Aussie manufacturing firms or productive workers if they must compete against subsidised industries, artificially low prices on imports or other unfair market practices. That's why, this week, I did not hesitate to apply duties ranging from 47.6 per cent to 54.4 per cent on imported interchangeable bolted clipping system brackets used in the building industry.

Earlier this year, following the decision of the US administration to impose tariffs on imports, the Albanese government invested $5m to toughen up the Anti-Dumping Commission's monitoring and compliance capabilities. That announcement was accompanied by a $50m support package for industry peak bodies to help Australian firms identify new market opportunities overseas, and a commitment to a new Economic Resilience Program within the government's National Reconstruction Fund to support firms exposed to global market disruptions. I have been consulting with industry on the design of that program.

A strong anti-dumping system working in the national interest can make all the difference to those workers, and to Australia's future as a manufacturing powerhouse.



Tim Ayres is Minister for Industry and Innovation