The UK government has today (28 June 2023) announced that the TRA's recommendation on imports of heavy plate steel from China will be upheld and that an anti-dumping measure on these goods will remain in place for a further five years.
Heavy plate steel is often used in the manufacture of construction, mining and logging equipment, in oil and gas pipelines, for shipbuilding and construction of bridges and buildings. Construction and machinery account for over 70% of heavy plate steel consumption in the UK.
The UK industry for heavy plate steel consists of two producers, Spartan UK Ltd and Liberty Steel Dalzell Ltd, who collectively employ around 300 people and contribute £10-20 million to the UK economy each year.
The TRA's investigation found that injury to the UK industry would recur if the anti-dumping amount was no longer applied. As a result, UK producers would be unlikely to be able to compete and this could result in the closure of their plants in North Lincolnshire and North Lanarkshire.
The anti-dumping measure covers goods of flat products of non-alloy or other alloy steel (excluding stainless steel, silicon-electrical steel, tool steel and high-speed steel), hot-rolled, not clad, plated or coated, not in coils, of a thickness exceeding 10mm and of a width of 600mm or more or of a thickness of 4.75mm or more but not exceeding 10mm and of a width of 2.05m or more.
Notes:
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The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) initiated this transition review on 25 January 2022.
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The period of investigation for the transition review was 1 January 2021 - 31 December 2021 while the injury period was 1 January 2018 - 31 December 2021.
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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.
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Anti-dumping duties allow a country or union to take action against goods which are being sold at less than their normal value - this is defined as the price for 'like goods' sold in the exporter's home market.
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These measures are one of the three types of trade remedy measures - along with countervailing measures against countervailable subsidies and safeguard measures which address sudden, unforeseen floods of imports - that are allowed under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
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Period of Investigation - when we are investigating dumping and subsidy cases, we will use a period of investigation of around a year. We will aim for the end point to be as close as possible to the date of initiation. However, we will decide this on a case-by-case basis.
