Australia’s manufacturing industry is facing mounting pressure as imports of potentially dumped products continue to climb while a formal investigation into the practice remains underway.
Industry groups are now calling on the government to impose temporary duties to stem the damage before the inquiry concludes.
The call for action follows a further rise of 30 per cent in imports from China, adding to concerns that Australian manufacturers are being squeezed out of their own market.
Dumping, and the associated practice of subsidisation, occurs when a company exports a product into Australia at a price below its local market or true market value, placing domestic producers at a significant competitive disadvantage.
Industry participants say the nature of dumping cases is shifting.
A growing share now involve complex, value-added finished products rather than raw materials, a trend they warn is placing direct pressure on skilled Australian manufacturing jobs and the country’s broader sovereign manufacturing capacity.
At the centre of the current concerns is an Anti-Dumping Commission investigation into imports of aluminium windows and doors from China.
The inquiry was launched following an application lodged by the Australian Glass and Window Association (AGWA) and VENTORA.
Industry data submitted to the Commission shows imports of aluminium windows and doors from China increased by more than two-thirds in the three years to November 2025.
The case has drawn significant attention, attracting more than 400 submissions from businesses, unions and industry groups, a scale of response that underscores widespread concern across the sector.
The window and door manufacturing industry directly employs more than 9,000 Australians, while the broader supply chain supports over 26,000 jobs in metropolitan and regional communities across the country.
The concerns have been sharpened by the collapse of Oceania Glass, Australia’s last remaining architectural glass manufacturer, which entered liquidation last year after citing intense competition from imported products as a key factor in its demise.
Clinton Skeoch, CEO of the AGWA, said the push for temporary duties was about ensuring fair competition rather than shutting out imports altogether.
“This is about fairness,” said Skeoch.
He said the pace of change in import volumes since the investigation began highlighted the need for a faster response from government.
“Moving slower than other nations on anti-dumping controls means that Australian industry loses the game of musical chairs, time and time again,” said Skeoch.
Skeoch also drew a link between the strength of Australia’s upstream aluminium production and the downstream manufacturers who rely on it.
“You can’t have a strong aluminium industry without strong Australian customers,” he said, noting that the same logic the government applies to aluminium production should extend to the thousands of businesses that turn that aluminium into finished products.
With the investigation still underway and import volumes continuing to rise, industry groups argue that delaying protective measures risks further job losses and the erosion of a manufacturing capability that, once lost, would be difficult to rebuild.
For now, the outcome of the Anti-Dumping Commission’s inquiry, and any interim measures the government chooses to introduce, will be closely watched by an industry that says it is simply asking for a level playing field.
