The Trade Remedies Authority has today (19 August 2022) proposed
that two China-based electrical bicycle and tricycle
manufacturers be given new exporter status which allows them to
pay a lower anti-dumping import tariff rate to export their
products to the UK. They would otherwise pay the much higher rate
for exporters who did not cooperate with the original trade
remedy investigation.
The UK e-bike market was worth £280 million in sales in 2020 and
this is expected to triple by 2024. The change in tariff rate
would help meet demand in this growing market by making it
possible for these new exporters to export to the UK and by
providing a wider range of options to UK consumers.
The proposal is contained in a Statement
of Essential Facts, which is now open for comment by
interested parties. The TRA will consider any comments before
making a final recommendation to the Secretary of State later
this year.
Investigation findings
The TRA assesses applications for new investigations and reviews
and conducts them rigorously, fairly and consistently with
statutory guidance and timescales.
The TRA opened a new exporter review into electric bicycles from
China in June, following a request from two exporters. As they
are new to the market, the two firms currently pay the same
anti-dumping tariff rate as exporters who did not cooperate with
the original EU anti-dumping measure in 2019.
New exporter reviews allow new exporters to enter the UK market
at a fair rate, rather than being penalised for not taking part
in the original investigation. In this case, the TRA is
recommending that:
- the applicants are new exporters;
- they should pay a non-sampled, co-operating overseas exporter
anti-dumping amount of 16.2%, rather than the 62.1% they
currently have to pay;
- the new rate should be backdated to the initiation of the
review on 23 June 2022.
The period of investigation for this review was 1 June 2021 to 31
May 2022.
The applicants for the review were Jinhua Otmar Technology Co
Limited, PRC and Jinhua Seno Technology Co Limited, PRC.
To be considered a new exporter, an applicant must not have
exported the reviewed goods to the EU during the period of
investigation on which the current measure is based.
The TRA was satisfied that the applicants were incorporated after
the EU period of investigation expiry date of 30 September 2017,
and therefore did not export the goods to the EU during the
period on which the current measure is based.
Background information:
- 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 TRA is an arm’s length body of the Department of
International Trade (DIT) launched on 1 June 2021. Before its
launch, it operated as the Trade Remedies Investigations
Directorate (TRID) of DIT.
- Anti-dumping remedies address imported goods which are being
dumped in the UK at prices below what they would be sold for in
their home country.
