David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

A fundamental element of the anticircumvention framework is the exclusion of activities which are generally considered to be compliance issues or, in other words, breaches of Customs legislation. There are existing powers to deal with these breaches. Anticircumvention inquiries focus on activities which are beyond the traditional reach of our compliance activities. Of those remaining activities, these four types of circumvention meet the following important criteria: they are relevant to Australia and Australian industry; they are relevant internationally—that is, they have also been targeted by other jurisdictions' anticircumvention models; and there is a high level of confidence that they can be identified, investigated and addressed within the allocated 155 days. Additionally, the bill introduces a power to make regulations which prescribe additional circumvention activities if warranted.

Anticircumvention inquiries will not solve every problem. However, a mechanism to inquire into circumvention activities benefits Australian industry in a number of ways: it will deter businesses from engaging in practices which are aimed at avoiding paying duties; it ensures that foreign imports have the appropriate amount of antidumping duty imposed on them, providing a level playing field for Australian businesses; and it increases confidence in Australia's trade landscape by addressing what are often perceived to be unfair business practices.