Anti-dumping duties on frozen bone-in chicken imports from Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom should be scrapped rather than extended for another five years, according to the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE).
The association has asked the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) to reject the case for renewing the duties, arguing that the evidence does not show that their removal would lead to renewed dumping and harm to local producers.
The South African Poultry Association (SAPA) has applied to retain the duties and substantially increase them, according to AMIE.
As Freight News reported in August, ITAC launched a sunset review following SAPA’s application. The commission found sufficient initial evidence to investigate whether removing the duties would threaten the SACU poultry industry.
The duties were first imposed in 2015 and extended in 2021. The current review will determine whether protection should continue.
“A sunset review is a fresh test of current evidence, not an automatic renewal,” said Kherina Narotam, trade attorney at Commodity Trade Observer, which prepared AMIE’s submission.
AMIE’s challenge centres on the reliability of the dumping calculations, changing European markets and the improved performance of local producers.
SAPA’s application calculates dumping margins of 425.64% for Germany, 32.48% for the Netherlands and 61.84% for the UK. These are not newly approved duty rates.
For Germany, exports to Ghana were used to calculate an export price because no shipments of the affected product entered SACU during the investigation period. AMIE alleges that most of the Ghana-bound volume used in the calculation comprised products excluded from the original investigation, inflating the margin.
The association also argues that declining German production, the UK’s dependence on imports and demand for Dutch poultry within Europe should be considered when assessing whether supplies would be diverted to South Africa.
Stronger sales, production, employment and profitability among domestic producers further call into question the need for continued protection, AMIE says. SAPA, however, has argued that removing the duties would undermine local sales, profits, output and investment.
The dispute reflects the competing positions previously covered by Freight News: importers argue that imports support supply and affordability, while the FairPlay Movement maintains that dumped bone-in portions distort competition.
On affordability, AMIE cites Reserve Bank research estimating that trade protection lifted frozen chicken retail prices by 16.2% above what they would otherwise have been between 2012 and 2021. This covers tariffs, anti-dumping duties and safeguards collectively, rather than these duties alone.
“South Africa needs a strong, competitive and growing domestic poultry industry. It also needs responsible imports to supplement local production, strengthen food security and provide consumers with choice,” said AMIE CEO Paul Matthew.
