Johannesburg — Associations representing industries likely to be affected if antidumping duties on several products are eliminated may band together to consider "other remedies", including Constitutional Court action.

The threat comes after the trade and industry department's International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) published a notice on December 19 suggesting that antidumping duties might be terminated on 31 products. This followed a Supreme Court of Appeal decision in September, which found Itac had erred in interpreting the five-year antidumping rule.

Affected sectors including paper, chicken meat, glass, carbon black, blankets, aluminium hollow ware, welded stainless steel products, automatic circuit breakers, suspension PVC and garlic growing could be devastated by the move.

Representatives of these sectors said they would work collectively to respond to the removal of the duties.

Kevin Lovell, of the Southern African Poultry Association, said yesterday: "It's awful news. If protection is lifted you have to first suffer damage before you can ask for remedies. It's a bizarre situation." Lovell's association was "more than willing to assist Itac in seeking a solution".

"Industry bodies are talking to each other and the best way forward may be to act collectively."

Trade consultant Danie Jordaan, who works for several of the affected trade associations, said this might mean an appeal to the Constitutional Court.

"With the rand still relatively strong, it's a serious situation," he said. "We need to submit additional information if we are to get a different decision."

In 2000, poultry meat became the second South African product, after garlic, to benefit from the imposition of antidumping duties. Before that local broilers had been devastated by the dumping of cheap, dark chicken meat from the US.

"The US market prefers white meat and broilers there recover costs on that product alone," said Lovell. "That leaves US producers with a surplus of dark chicken meat such as drumsticks. But this is the preferred option in South Africa, which makes us an obvious dumping ground."

John Hunt, CE of the Paper Manufacturers' Association of SA, agreed that the effect of reduced protection could be "dire". "There are huge new paper investments in China and Indonesia and any time they've got a surplus, SA is vulnerable."

Itac has requested submissions from affected sectors by the end of this month. "It may be possible to simply apply for renewed protection," said Hunt. But Jordaan warned that it took six to 18 months to get duties imposed.