Anti-dumping Laws
Samoa has enacted anti-dumping laws in order to both protect the local products and to strengthen the policies required by the WTO in order to be a member of it. There was already a tariff to control imports, but it is not enough nowadays, when goods flow all over the world freely. This is especially important for a country like Samoa, said the Trade Minister, because the island’s agricultural goods cannot compete with the price of products coming from Latin America. Contrary to what many people might think, imposing tariffs on imports does not go against the WTO commitments of free trade, because dumpling is illegal and it is not fair for weaker countries engaging in free trade.
Samoa’s economy is based on agriculture, but the price of these products is not as competitive as the ones imported from South America. I understand that the Government has decided to impose a trade barrier to control dumping. It is important for a developing economy like the Samoan to be able to sell its products in its market without having too much competitiveness from outsiders. At the same time, free trade promotes the growth of wealth because more money flows into the economy as a result of imports. Therefore, I think that it is good to have anti-dumping laws to prevent unfair competition, but tariffs cannot be excessively high, or other countries might think that it is too expensive to trade with Samoa.
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