Senator Tim Ayres joined Manufacturers’ Monthly’s Jack Lloyd to discuss new anti-dumping reforms aimed at renewing confidence in local industry.
The Federal Government’s reforms to Australia’s anti-dumping framework are targeted at strengthening the competitiveness of local manufacturers in the face of unfair global practices through streamlining regulatory processes. This comes as the government has pressed ahead with its tariff reform agenda, announcing the abolition of another 500 nuisance tariffs on everyday imported products. Combined with the 457 tariffs removed last year, this brings the total to around 1,000 in just two years. The move is projected to save Australian businesses around $157 million annually in compliance costs, while delivering cheaper products to consumers.
Also central to this reform is the consolidation of all trade remedy powers into the Anti-Dumping Commission, backed by a $5 million investment promised during the 2025 election campaign.
“This is the biggest opportunity to rebuild Australian manufacturing capability in several generations – from heavy industry and mineral processing through to artificial intelligence and quantum capabilities,” said Senator Tim Ayres, Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science.
Tariff cuts and trade reforms
The reforms come against a backdrop of global trade uncertainty, marked by supply chain volatility, industrial overcapacity in key markets, and non-market subsidies driving down international prices. For Australian manufacturers, the changes are positioned as both protective and enabling – defending against unfair dumping while allowing businesses to focus on growth, productivity, and innovation. Ayres said the reforms to the Anti-Dumping Commission were a critical step in ensuring the system was ready to perform in today’s trade environment.
“The anti-dumping announcement is a significant reform – consolidating all of our trade remedies into one capable part of government is an important step for making sure the regime is fit for purpose,” Ayres said. “It sits against the backdrop of reforms we announced in the election campaign, providing more resources to the Anti-Dumping Commission.”
Ayres emphasised that anti-dumping reform must be targeted at unfair non-market practices on the part of trading partners, as Australia is an open market economy and thus relies upon a fair, free, rules-based global trading environment. Beyond the structural reform, he said the need to cut red tape and compliance barriers for manufacturers is vital to ensuring businesses can access remedies in a timely and realistic way. This means businesses have a lesser chance of failing while their applications are being considered, and that the evidentiary thresholds are fair and real-world relevant.
“I want the pathway through to making anti-dumping applications and safeguards remedies to be straightforward and simple for businesses at every level,” he said. “We’re taking this opportunity to look across the whole system and deliver reforms that are consistent with Australia’s national interest.”
The reforms have particular importance for small- and medium-sized manufacturers, many of whom face the brunt of cheap dumped imports and lengthy compliance processes. Ayres noted that the Federal Government wants to build investment in jobs for the outer regions and suburbs because these businesses form the industrial backbone of Australia. In line with this, he said this work must be delivered in a way that’s durable, effective, and impactful.
Industry input has been central to shaping the anti-dumping agenda and will remain so moving forward. Ayres’ life-long experience working in and around the manufacturing sector has been key in gaining feedback from both workers on the shop floor through to CEOs, who have highlighted the growing urgency for a modernised system.
“It’s been clear that as the global trading environment has changed, these problems have become more acute,” he said. “I’m very pleased to have been part of delivering this reform, and we’ll work with industry really closely to make sure that we land this in a way that has the biggest impact for Australian manufacturing.”
A Future Made in Australia
The anti-dumping reform dovetails with the Government’s broader Future Made in Australia agenda, a record $22.7 billion package designed to reindustrialise the economy, strengthen sovereign capability and drive productivity. Speaking at the National Manufacturing Summit in July, Senator Ayres stressed that manufacturing was at the core of Australian innovation and productivity growth, pointing to the effect globally competitive firms have in lifting national productivity. The Government’s broader industrial strategy includes commitments to green metals production, renewable energy manufacturing, and support for critical supply chains. This includes large scale investment for green iron production and $500 million for clean energy projects as a part of the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund.
Senator Ayres told the summit that this was about positioning Australia in higher-value parts of global supply chains and protecting the nation’s resilience in an increasingly uncertain world.
“It is no coincidence that Australia’s productivity performance has weakened in parallel with the decline of our manufacturing sector in recent decades,” he said. “That is why the Federal Government is investing heavily in our capacity to make more things here.”
Ayres said that the agenda is not just a slogan, but a national strategy and plan of action to rebuild Australia’s capability, drive innovation, and ensure that Australian workers and businesses share in the benefits of the global renewable energy transition.
Opportunities and challenges ahead
Looking ahead, Ayres said as a nation, Australia must learn together to have confidence in its own capability. He believes there has been too much debate about manufacturing that talks down the nation’s competitiveness, despite its advantages, proud industrial regions and outer suburbs where extraordinary things are manufactured. While he acknowledged the journey would not be without setbacks, he stressed that progress required persistence.
“You don’t get progress without a few knocks,” he said. “This is a giant task – and we’re all in it together. It’s not something the government is going to do to the manufacturing sector. It’s something we’re going to do together, in partnership with industry and the R&D community.”
In terms of the overall success of the reforms, Ayres said the practical benefits of the reform and wider industry package would be measured in investment, jobs, and business confidence. On the ground, Ayres said he had already seen promising signs, citing Prince Engineering in Portland as an example of firms pushing forward in areas like wind tower fabrication despite challenges. He emphasised that visiting manufacturing facilities themselves has reaffirmed his own and others’ confidence in Australia’s capacity.
“The Prime Minister announced in the election that we want to make wind towers here in Australia. It’s my job to deliver on that promise, and when you see the capability and ambition at firms like Prince Engineering, it shows what’s possible,” he said.
For manufacturers, the anti-dumping reforms provide relief from unfair practices, while the broader Future Made in Australia strategy sets the stage for long-term industrial renewal. As Ayres put it, the challenge – and opportunity – lies in ensuring Australia projects confidence in its own capability.
