Countervailing measure on Indian stainless steel to be removed
The UK Government has agreed with the TRA’s recommendation that a countervailing measure on imports of Stainless Steel bars and rods from India be revoked.
The UK Government has today (15 June 2023) agreed with the TRA’s recommendation that a countervailing measure on imports of Stainless Steel bars and rods from India be revoked. Countervailing measures are put in place to offset imports being sold at unfair prices due to government subsidies in their country of origin.
The TRA found that although subsidised imports would continue if the countervailing measure were no longer applied, it is unlikely that the UK industry would be injured if the measure was no longer in place.
Trade association UK Steel said that there is “minimal supply to the UK market of stainless bars and rods by UK producers and therefore very low risk of injury resulting from the removal of the measure.”
In 2022, India accounted for the UK’s third biggest source of Stainless Steel bars and rods in tonnage. The measure had meant that importers were required to pay a tariff of 0%-4%. However, the TRA’s investigation found that neither domestic and international market conditions or historic injury data suggested that injury to UK producers would occur if the measure were revoked.
Therefore, while the TRA concluded UK producers would not be harmed by revoking the measure, doing so would help to ensure competitively-priced imports from India continue.
Stainless Steel bars and rods are used across various industries, including the automotive, aerospace and food processing industries. The bars and rods can either be used as a specific component in a larger product, for example as a propeller shaft, or they can be further worked into other stainless-steel products, for example precision components.
Notes to editors:
-
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) initiated this transition review in June 2022.
-
The period of investigation for the transition review was 1 April 2021 – 31 March 2022 while the injury period was 1 April 2018 – 31 March 2022.
-
Countervailing measures are put in place to offset imports being sold at unfair prices due to government subsidies in their country of origin. They are one of three types of trade remedies that are allowed under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
-
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) is the independent UK body, established in June 2021, to investigate whether trade remedy measures are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports.