The Trade Remedies Authority has initiated a reconsideration of its recommendation to impose countervailing measures on imports of ironing boards from Turkey.
The initiation today follows a submission received from Milenyum Metal, an overseas exporter of ironing boards, requesting that the TRA reconsider its recommendation. The applicant has challenged the TRA's calculations in the original subsidy investigation, which began in April 2022.
The TRA's original recommendation has been challenged on two grounds questioning the calculation of the individual subsidy amount which was calculated for them as the cooperating overseas exporter to the original investigation.
The TRA's reconsideration will consider the grounds submitted within the rules set out in the UK's regulatory framework and the underlying World Trade Organisation obligations. It will determine whether the application received necessitates a different recommendation to that originally given to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade.
At the end of the reconsideration process, the TRA will reach a reconsidered decision either upholding or varying its recommendation and will notify this to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade.
About the TRA's original recommendation
The TRA's original investigation, in response to a request from a UK manufacturer, assessed whether ironing boards imported from Turkey are subsidised and therefore being sold in the UK at unfairly low prices.
A provisional measure was in force from 26 May 2023 until 7 September 2023, at a rate of 4.42%, after it was determined that subsidised ironing boards imported into the UK from Turkey and the subsidisation of these goods had caused injury to the UK ironing boards industry. The provisional measure was temporary and put in place for up to four months or until the final measure was put in place.
The final recommended measure, which was accepted by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and came into force on 8 September 2023, is a countervailing amount of 4.02% on imports of ironing boards from Turkey. This measure will remain in force throughout the duration of the reconsideration.
Notes
- The Trade Remedies Authority is the UK body that investigates whether new trade remedy measures are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports.
- The UK trade remedies regime is set by the Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act 2018 and the Trade Act 2021, which operationalise the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements covering trade remedies.
- Reconsiderations are part of the process that parties can use to ask the TRA to look again at its decisions. Many government departments, non-departmental public bodies and other government agencies (including decision-making bodies on taxation and benefits) provide for interested parties to request an internal reconsideration of a decision as part of their standard processes.
- For a reconsideration to be undertaken by the TRA, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Set out the grounds for their application.
- Explain the outcome they are looking for.
- Demonstrate that they are eligible to apply for a reconsideration of this decision.
- If an application does not meet any or all the three criteria set out above, the TRA will review this and may ultimately reject an application.
