Initial findings recommend Turkish rainbow trout tariffs be kept
TRA initial findings recommend tariffs on imports of rainbow trout from Turkey be extended for five years.
- TRA initial findings recommend tariffs on imports of rainbow trout from Turkey be extended for five years.
- UK and overseas industries have 30 days to review and comment on the findings before a final decision is made.
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has today (Friday 25 June) published its Statement of Essential Facts, setting out initial findings on UK countervailing measures which currently apply to certain rainbow trout exported to the UK from Turkey.
Countervailing measures are placed on imported goods that are being subsidised by foreign governments and which might injure the UK market. They are part of 43 measures transitioned to the UK following its withdrawal from the EU.
The TRA’s report recommends the countervailing measures in this case, which have been transitioned into UK law from the EU system, be extended for five years, extending protections to UK rainbow trout farms which could otherwise be damaged by subsidised imports from Turkey.
The TRA’s Chief Executive Officer Oliver Griffiths said:
Our job as the TRA is to carry out detailed and impartial investigations of allegations of unfair international trade practices. Our provisional conclusion published today is that tariffs are needed to prevent British rainbow trout producers from being undercut by subsidised Turkish products.
As part of its assessment, the TRA identified that many Turkish subsidy programmes are still in place and are expected to continue. Whilst there are few imports from Turkey at present, there was clear evidence from Turkish producers that they intended to import if the measures were revoked. The TRA’s initial findings therefore recommend that tariffs on these imports be extended for five years.
Concentrated production sites for rainbow trout can be found in Northern Ireland, in north and south England, and in Scotland. Following today’s publication, there will be a 30-day period in which interested parties can comment on the report. The TRA will then consider and produce a Final Recommendation, which will be sent to the Secretary of State for International Trade who will make the final decision on whether to uphold the TRA’s recommendation.
Notes to Editors
- The Trade Remedies Authority is the UK body that investigates whether trade remedy measures are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports.
- The TRA is an arm’s length body of the Department of International Trade (DIT) and launched on 1 June 2021. Before its launch, staff operated as the Trade Remedies Investigations Directorate (TRID) of DIT.
- Countervailing measures are one of the three types of trade remedies allowed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The other two are anti-dumping measures which counter unfair dumping of imported goods and safeguard measures which address unforeseen surges of imports.
- As part of its work, the TRA needs to assess existing trade remedy measures which were inherited from the EU system to make sure they are appropriate for the UK. It is reviewing 43 measures which were identified as being of interest to the UK and analysing data to assess whether the measures are helping to protect against imports which are causing damage to UK industries.
- This review concerned a countervailing measure applying to certain rainbow trout originating in Turkey. The review was initiated on 4 March 2020 and the investigation covered the period from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. In order to assess injury, we have examined the period from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2019.
- The measure covers rainbow trout that are either live, fresh, chilled, frozen or smoked whether in the form of whole fish (with heads and gills on), gutted, weighing 1.2kg or less each, or with heads off, gilled or gutted (weighing 1kg or less each), or in the form of fillets (weighing 400g or less each) originating in Turkey.
- As part of its review, the TRA conducted an Economic Interest Test to consider:
- the damage that the imported rainbow trout are causing to UK producers of those goods
- the economic significance of affected industries and consumers in the UK and the potential impact of keeping or revoking the measure
- the likely impact on particular geographic areas and groups in the UK
- the likely consequences for the competitive environment and the structure of the UK market in these goods.