asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he received a report from An Coimisiún Dumpála in respect of its investigation into the dumping of refrigerators in this country; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dumping Investigations.
5.
I have not yet received a report from An Coimisiún Dumpála of the result of their investigation as to whether refrigerators have been or are being dumped. I do not propose to make any statement on the matter until I have had an opportunity to study the report.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the total sales of refrigerators on the home market is about 71,000; that imports of refrigerators up to the 31st July this year are 42,209 and that continued imports at that rate would reach an annual figure of 72,000; and will he state what he proposed to do about the matter?
As I have told the House, there is an inquiry being undertaken at the moment as to whether or not dumping of refrigerators is taking place. On the matter of dumping, I do not propose to make any comment until this report is to hand.
I have already pointed out to the Parliamentary Secretary that the imports for this year will be greater than the total home market consumption. The annual sales on the home market of refrigerators by Irish manufacturers is about 22,500, and if we are going to import more than the total home market consumption what is going to happen to the Irish manufacturers in the coming year?
The Deputy's question is concerned specifically and solely with the question of dumping not with the question of imports in general. If the Deputy wishes to have questions answered in relation to imports in general, I suggest that he put down a separate question.
Arising further out of the Parliamentary Secretary's reply, I would expect him when he sees a question in relation to a specific matter to have looked into the whole matter. I would have expected more concern from him in relation to whether there will be more refrigerators imported into the country this year than the home market can consume. Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the trade estimates that a refrigerator coming in from one of the Comecon countries would have to be manufactured at £15 to be sold at the price at which it is being sold in this country? Does he believe it possible to manufacture a refrigerator for £15?
Of course, it is dumping.
This is precisely the sort of detailed technical question being considered by the Dumping Commission at the moment. We will be able to assess the situation when we have the Dumping Commission's report.
Question No. 6.
How long does the Parliamentary Secretary expect to wait for their report?
The Dumping Commission have a record of reporting with a considerable degree of expedition.
I want to pass on to another question. Deputy O'Malley is also offering.
If the Deputy wishes to frame a question about imports, he should do so. The fact that he left imports in general out of the current question is a matter for him, not for me.
I have asked a supplementary question.
Order. Deputy Faulkner, I want to get on to another question. Other Deputies are offering also. Would the Deputy please co-operate with the Chair?
I will co-operate. I simply want to ask the Parliamentary Secretary when he expects this report from the Dumping Commission. Is he going to wait until our industries here are out of business?
I understand that the report is nearing completion and I expect it should be ready for submission to the Minister within a few weeks.
If the Commission finds that there is no dumping within the meaning of that word, is the Parliamentary Secretary going to allow the situation that Deputy Faulkner has described to continue, namely, that our imports equal or exceed the domestic market per annum?
The general question of import control is a separate issue which would have to be considered in the light of our treaty obligations as members of the EEC.
In other words, the Parliamentary Secretary and the Government are going to do nothing about it and if the country get to the stage of a close-down——
(Interruptions.)
Order, question No. 6.
6.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if An Coimisiún Dumpála have investigated alleged dumping of footwear into this country; and, if so, the results.
An Coimisiún Dumpála has completed two formal investigations of dumping of footwear. The first, in 1973 at the request of a manufacturer, related to men's working boots imported from Czechoslovakia and resulted in the imposition by the Government of an anti-dumping duty of 28 per cent ad valorem which has been in force since 18th December, 1973. The second, in 1975 at the Minister's request, related to footwear imported from certain South-East Asian and other low-cost countries, found that, while there was no injurious dumping at that time, the matter should be kept under review. A third investigation, also at the Minister's request, is now in progress and, in effect, is a continuation of the 1975 investigation; it is not possible to forecast the result of this investigation.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary agree that whatever action has been taken to date has been of no value; that, in fact, the imports, like the imports of refrigerators, are now greater than the total home market consumption and would he state what he proposes to do in relation to this matter?
Again, the question addressed to me by the Deputy is concerned solely with the question of dumping, not with the general measures which may be taken in relation to footwear. Do I take it that his question is merely about the matter of dumping or is he asking a more general question?
The question I have asked relates to dumping. I assumed that the Parliamentary Secretary would be able to answer any questions in relation to a situation which is so serious that thousands of footwear workers have become unemployed and unemployment faces quite a considerable number of those at present employed in the industry.
On the general question, I would point out to the Deputy that this matter was the subject of parliamenary questions in the House only yesterday. I can say that I completely repudiate the suggestion made by the Deputy which I think nobody who knows the situation could agree with to the effect that what has been done so far is of no value. It is obvious that the rate of duty now obtaining on imports of footwear into this country from within the Community is very considerably higher than it would otherwise have been had it not been for the intervention of the Minister for Industry and Commerce to have an alteration made in the normal scaling-down of import duties which was to take place under the terms of the Treaty of Accession negotiated prior to the coming into office of the present Government.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary agree that had it not been for the pressure from this side of the House the Minister would have done nothing; secondly, that import controls at the present level of tariffs is no higher than in 1975; thirdly, that the imports are flowing in at a much greater rate now than ever before? Surely the Parliamentary Secretary ought to concern himself with this matter rather than trying to score political points.
I think the Deputy is trying to score political points. The situation is that the referral of the imports of footwear to the Dumping Commission on the Minister's own initiative was the first ever such initiative by a Minister since the present legislation was enacted to refer matters to the Dumping Commission. Under previous Governments the situation was that all dumping inquiries were taken solely at the initiative of people in the trade itself. The situation may be as the Deputy states, that the level of duty is no higher than it was in 1975. But under the terms of the Treaty of Accession, if these had been adhered to the duties would have been far lower than they were in 1975——
Even for third countries?
——and it was the Minister's intervention which ensured that the alteration in the terms was effected. There is certainly a serious problem in relation to the importation of footwear which is filling an increasing share of our market, and this is a matter about which the Minister has expressed serious concern on a number of occasions. However, I would point out to the House that there has been a decline in consumption of footwear from whatever source in 1975 as against 1974 of approximately 14 per cent and this is another factor operating in that situation.
The Parliamentary Secretary may be assured that I am very well aware of the situation in the footwear industry, there being quite a number of footwear factories in my constituency. Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that footwear is being imported into this country from low-cost countries and at prices so low that it is obvious that it is dumping? As I did in relation to refrigerators, might I ask the Parliamentary Secretary when he expects a report from the Dumping Commission on this matter?
If it is as obvious as the Deputy says that the footwear in question is being dumped, then I presume the Dumping Commission, which is a technical body competent to make a decision in this matter, will so find but to date their finding has not been reported finally to the Minister.
One final question. In view of the fact that the situation has now reached crisis point where stockists are stocking up foreign footwear and where travellers from Irish firms will have very considerable difficulty in having their footwear purchased in the coming year, can the Parliamentary Secretary say what further steps he proposes to take in relation to this very serious situation?
I cannot give an indication as to when the report of the Dumping Commission will be made at this stage. There is no final date in sight but the situation will be reviewed in the light of the result of this inquiry. The Minister is in constant touch with the commission to ensure that they realise, as they do, the urgency of the situation and the need to report at the earliest possible date.
Do the Parliamentary Secretary, the Minister and the Department not realise that ad valorem duty is absolutely useless with regard to the very low-cost countries? Would he not take some steps when he knows that shoes can be imported from Taiwan at 75p at Dublin Airport and that 100 per cent ad valorem duty would still bring them up to only £1.50? Is this not the basic problem at the moment?
It certainly is a problem that arises specifically from the low costs that obtained in other countries, as distinct from the question of dumping. To that extent the implication of the Deputy's question is correct. However, I think he is quite wrong in using the term "absolutely useless" in relation to ad valorem duties and I do not think that he would be prepared to stand over that statement when he reflects on it.
I will stand over it so far as low-cost countries are concerned. That is not EEC trade and I would ask the Department to wake up to the problem.
I am calling Question No. 7.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary ask for quotas?
I have called Question No. 7.