The UK Government has today (31 January 2023) decided to retain existing measures on imports of Continuous Glass Fibre from China, as recommended by the TRA. This means that the UK industry for glass fibre, predominantly based in Wigan, will continue to be protected from injury caused by dumped and subsidised imports of glass fibre from China for another five years from 31 January 2021. Glass fibres are used in the creation of wind turbine blades, which are integral to the UK Government's strategy to boost the country's energy security. They are also used in such industries as transport (automotive, marine, aerospace), building and construction and electric/electronics, as well as the manufacturing of various consumer goods.
Investigation findings
After carrying out a transition review to assess if the measures on these imports were needed, the TRA recommended that both countervailing and anti-dumping measures be kept. The TRA found that imported products from China accounted for 8.44% of total UK imports in 2020, making China the fifth largest source of imports of continuous filament glass fibre products.
The TRA recommended that the measures on some continuous filament glass fibre products be maintained at their current levels until 30 January 2026 - this is five years after the date when the countervailing measure would have expired if no transition review had been carried out (31 January 2021).
However, the TRA determined that mats made of glass fibre should be excluded from the measures. While mats of glass fibre produced in China are bought by multiple UK importers, the TRA found no evidence of UK production and there is no suggestion that mats imported from China would compete against other, domestically-produced, forms of glass fibre.
Background information
- The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) is the independent UK body, established in June 2021, as the first non-departmental public body of the Department for International Trade, that investigates whether trade remedy measures are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports.
