The Trade Remedies Authority has today (30 March 2026) initiated
its first absorption review.
Absorption
reviews are one of a number of different types of review
that the TRA can conduct while a trade remedy measure is in
place. They investigate whether an anti-dumping measure on a
particular product is having its intended effect or if it has
been absorbed (resulting in the prices of imports failing to
reflect the imposition of the measure).
The absorption review initiated today follows an application from
a UK producer of excavators which claimed that the anti-dumping measure
imposed in May 2025 (as well as the provisional
anti-dumping measure imposed in December 2024) is being absorbed
and is therefore not having its intended effect of reducing the
injury caused by dumped excavators entering the UK.
The anti-dumping
duties range from 18.81% for a sampled exporter to
40.08% for the residual rate. They apply to imports of excavators
from China weighing 11 tonnes or more, but less than 80
tonnes.
The review will consider:
- export, resale and subsequent selling prices of the imported
excavators;
- whether the anti-dumping duty has led to movements in resale
prices and subsequent selling prices;
- and any other factors which may have had an impact on prices.
Following the conclusion of the review, the TRA will either
recommend to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade that
the duty should remain unchanged or that it should be varied. If
the TRA recommends that the duty should be varied, the variation
can be applied to some or all of the goods subject to the review.
Interested parties can take part in this absorption review by
registering on the TRA's public
file by 14 April 2026.
Background
- 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.
