Laws dealing with practices that ‘get around’ tariffs imposed by World Trade Organization (WTO) Members on dumped or subsidized goods are well established in some Members but have only recently been introduced in Australia. The compliance of these laws with WTO norms is open to debate. The economic rationale for penalizing some kinds of commercial practice as circumvention may be similarly contested. This article outlines the Australian laws and accompanying investigation procedures, with available case studies, and poses questions about the need for them and about their legitimacy in policy terms.
Global Trade and Customs Journal