A REGULATORY ANALYSIS OF AUSTRALIA ANTIDUMPING LAW AND POLICY - STATUTORY FAILURE OR REGULATORY CAPTURE

Anti-dumping and countervailing (AD/CVD) law and policy permits nation s to impose corrective duties against unfairly traded imports found to have injured domestic industries. However, administrators of AD/CVD p olicy around the world are criticised for misusing the remedy as arl e laborate and complex protectionist mechanism. A problem with many crit ical reviews is that explanations as to how misuse occurs, or at what point in the administrative process regulatory authorities are able to exercise bias, are rarely provided. In the Australian context, the ta sk of identifying a source and opportunity for misuse is made complica ted by three major forces affecting the decision-making processes of t he Australian regulatory authorities, the Australian Customs Service a nd Australian Anti-Dumping Authority (ACS and ADA). This article exami nes the influence which Australia's international obligations, governm ent and public policy processes and the Federal Court have upon the ad ministration of AD/CVD law and policy in order to determine the degree of autonomy afforded to the ACS and ADA.