Recommendation on PSC wire transition review published
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has published its final recommendation on the PSC wire transition review.
Anti-dumping duties on PSC wires and strands from China no longer apply, following the publication on Monday 2 August 2021 of a TRA report recommending that the duties be removed. The measures have been removed for PSC wires and strands imported from China after 30 January 2021 (30 days after the date the measure transitioned from the EU into UK law, as specified by the legislation).
The TRA assessed the trade remedies measure on PSC wire as part of its work to assess a number of measures which the UK inherited from the EU system. The domestic industry for this product also confirmed that they did not want the measure to continue.
The Secretary of State for International Trade has decided to uphold the TRA’s recommendation and the duties have accordingly been removed. This means importers of these products from China will no longer have to pay duties of up to 46%.
Background information
- 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 for International Trade (DIT) and launched on 1 June 2021. Before its launch, staff operated as the Trade Remedies Investigations Directorate (TRID) of DIT.
- Anti-dumping measures are one of the three types of trade remedies allowed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The other two are countervailing measures which counter unfair subsidies on 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 an anti-dumping measure applying to certain pre- and post-stressing wires and wire strands of non-alloy steel originating in the People’s Republic of China which began on 30 July 2020. The period of investigation was 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. In order to assess injury, the TRA examined the period from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2019.
- As part of its review, the TRA also conducted an Economic Interest Test to consider:
- the damage that the products might be 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