He said the potential loss of 1500 jobs from the Kimberly-Clark pulp mill at Millicent was a conservative estimate.

The duties were introduced in 2008 by former home affairs minister Bob Debus after an investigation by Customs concluded that Australian toilet paper manufacturers were being hurt due to price undercutting by Asian importers.

The duties were revoked by the attorney-general on January 12 after an investigation by Customs concluded that while the Australian toilet paper industry had been harmed, the harm was caused more by other factors than by the dumping of goods exported from China and Indonesia.

Senator Nick Xenophon today told ABC Radio that Kimberly-Clark Australia had pumped $320 million into its Millicent facility.

"You are looking at up to 4000 jobs around the country that could be lost as a result of local manufacturers not being able to compete with goods being sold below cost," he said.

When asked if the locals could "kiss the town goodbye" Mr Xenophon said: "Millicent would be devastated if that plant shut down".

Apart from the potential job losses in Australia's $950 million toilet paper industry, Senator Xenophon said the imported paper did not have the same environmental guarantees as the locally produced paper.