   
  
G/ADP/Q1/GBR/4  
G/SCM/Q1/GBR/4  
G/SG/Q1/GBR/4  
 
27 April 2021  
(21-3564) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Anti -Dumping Practices  
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures  
Committee on Safeguards  Original: English  
 
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER  ARTICLES 18.5,  
32.6, AND 12.6 OF THE AGREEMENTS  
REPLIES TO QUESTIONS1 POSED BY THE UNITED STATES  
REGARDING  THE NOTIFICATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM2 
The following communication dated  and received on 26 April 2021 , is being circulated at the request 
of the delegation of the United Kingdom . 
 
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The U nited Kingdom would like to thank  the United States for their written  questions , and we 
welcome the opportunity to  provide  clarity on the UK trade remedies system for all Members.  
The U nited Kingdom  has begun operating our own domestic trade remedies system that was put in 
place in light of our departure from the European Union. The U nited Kingdom  has legislated for this 
system, in line with WTO rules, and made relevant notifications to the WTO in line with our 
obligations. All the U nited Kingdom' s legislation we have put in place so far has been discussed in 
the Committees during October 2020.  
The Taxation (Cross -border Trade) Act 2018, (hereinafter "the Taxation Act 2018 "), legislated for 
the ability for the UK Government to establish a standalone customs system following the end of the 
transition period. As part of the Taxation Act 2018, the Act establishes the U nited Kingdom' s 
domestic trade remedies framework.  
Secondary legislation under the Act, the first of which came into force on 6 March 2019, sets out the 
further detail of the U nited Kingdom' s trade remedies framework, specifically on dumpi ng and 
subsidies investigations, safeguard investigations, and reconsiderations and appeals. For the 
purposes of these writte n replies , specific secondary legislation includes the Trade Remedies 
(Increase in Imports Causing Serious Injury to UK Producers) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 
(hereinafter "the Safeguard Regulations 2019 "), the Trade Remedies (Dumping and Subsidisation) 
(EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (hereinafter "the Dumping and Subsidy Regulations 2019 "), and the 
Trade Remedies (Reconsideration and Appea ls) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (hereinafter 
"the Reconsideration and Appeals Regulations 2019 "). 
TRID have published guidance on how it will operate trade remedy investigations and it is available 
on the UK Government website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the -uk-trade -
remedies -investigations -process . 
 
1 G/ADP/Q1/GBR/ 1 - G/SCM/Q1/GBR/ 1 – G/SG/Q1/GBR/1 . 
2 G/ADP/N/1/GBR/1  - G/SCM/N/1/GBR/1  – G/SG/N/1/GBR/1 . G/ADP/Q1/GBR/4 • G/SCM/Q1/GBR/4 • G/SG/Q1/GBR/4  
 
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  Question 1  
Please clarify what legal authority takes precedence i n the event of a conflict between the 
Taxation Act of 2018  and the WTO Agreements.  
Reply : 
Section 28 of the Taxation Act 2018 requires the Secretary of State and the TRA to have regard to 
international arrangements to which the UK is party.  
Question 2  
Sche dule 4, Part 1, Section 6(1)(b)  of the Taxation Act of 2018  states "a "UK industry" in 
particular goods means … (b) those of them whose collective output of like goods 
constitutes a major proportion of the total production in the United Kingdom of those 
goods." Please clarify how the United Kingdom will determine what constitutes a major 
proportion of the total production in the United Kingdom.  
Reply : 
The UK will determine what constitutes a major proportion having regard to Article 4.1 of the 
Anti-Dumping Agreement and Article 16.1 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures.  
Question 3  
Does the Secretary of State have the authority to ha lt the initiation of a dumping or 
subsidization investigation if all of the requirements in Schedule 4, Part 2, Section 9(1)(a) 
to (d) are met?  
Reply : 
The Secretary of State does not have the authority to prevent the initiation of a dumping or 
subsidisatio n investigation following an application made by or on behalf of UK industry if the 
requirements in paragraph 9(1)(a) to (d) of Schedule 4 are met.  
Question 4  
Schedule 4, Part 2, Section 10(2)(a) to (j)  of the Taxation Act of 2018  lists items that may 
be addressed by regulations. Please identify where in the regulations each of the listed 
items are addressed, and if any are not addressed, if and when the United  Kingdom 
expects to do so.  
Reply : 
The items included in paragraph 10 of Schedule 4, are addressed in Part 6 of the Trade Remedies 
(Dumping and Subsidisation) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.  
Question 5  
With regard to Schedule 4, Part 4, Section 20(1) and the Secretary of State's consideration 
of the recommendation of the Trade Reme dies Authority (hereinafter "TRA"):  
a. Does the Secretary of State have any authority to review a negative final 
determination by the TRA?  
b. Do interested  parties have an opportunity to provide comments on the Secretary 
of State's acceptance or rejection of a r ecommendation by the TRA? If so, will 
those comments be addressed in public notices by the authority?  G/ADP/Q1/GBR/4 • G/SCM/Q 1/GBR/4 • G/SG/Q1/GBR/4  
 
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  Reply  
The Secretary of State does not have the authority to review a negative final determination by the 
TRA. The TRA must make a final negative determina tion if the TRA determines that it cannot make 
a final affirmative determination. The TRA must publish notice of its final negative determination, 
which, in accordance with paragraph 12(a) of Schedule 4  of the Taxation Act 2018 , terminates the 
investigation. The TRA cannot therefore make a recommendation to the Secretary of State following 
the making of a final negative determination . 
Question 6  
When considering whether the application of an anti -dumping remedy or anti -subsidy 
remedy is not in the economic interest of the United Kingdom, as mentioned in Schedule  4, 
Part 6, Section 25(4):  
a. How will the results of the economic interest test be announced?  
b. Who will have access to review the results of the economic interest test?  
c. Will the TRA or Secre tary of State accept comments from interested parties 
regarding the results of the economic interest test?  
Reply : 
a. The result of the economic interest test will be included in a notice following the making of 
a provisional or final affirmative determination . The notice will be published by the TRA if no 
recommendation is made or, alternatively, by the Secretary of State after any 
recommendation is accepted or rejected.  
Before making a final affirmative or final negative determination, the TRA must publish a 
"statement of essential facts " which sets out the final determination that the TRA intends to 
make, a summary of the facts considered by the TRA during the investigation and the facts 
considered that formed the basis of the final determination the TRA intends to make. This 
will include  publishing the initial assessment of the Economic Interest Test.  
b. As the above answer sets out, the result of the economic interest test will be included in a 
notice following the making of a provisional or final affirmative determination. The notice 
will be published by the TRA if no recommendation is made or, alternatively, by the Secretary 
of State after any recommendation is accepted or rejected. This will be available publicly 
online on the Trade Remedies Service or on gov.uk . 
Before making a final affirmative or final negative determination, the TRA must publish a 
"statement of essential facts " which sets out the final determination that the TRA intends to 
make, a summary of the facts considered by the TRA during the investigatio n and the facts 
considered that formed the basis of the final determination the TRA intends to make. This 
will include publishing the initial assessment of the Economic Interest Test. This too will be 
available publicly online on the Trade Remedies Service . 
c. Interested parties do not have an opportunity to provide comments regarding the results of 
the economic interest test once the TRA has made a recommendation to the Secretary of 
State.  
Interested parties do have ample opportunity to provide comments befor e this. Before 
making a final affirmative or final negative determination, the TRA must publish a "statement 
of essential facts " which sets out the final determination that the TRA intends to make, a 
summary of the facts considered by the TRA during the in vestigation and the facts 
considered that formed the basis of the final determination the TRA intends to make. This 
will include publishing the initial assessment of the Economic Interest Test.  
The TRA will inform interested parties who have supplied infor mation that has been 
considered by the TRA how it has used that information in making the intended final G/ADP/Q1/GBR/4 • G/SCM/Q1/GBR/4 • G/SG/Q1/GBR/4  
 
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  determination and the details of the TRA 's analysis forming the basis of the intended final 
determination. The TRA will then specify in the "statement of essential facts " a period during 
which it will consider comments on that statement from interested parties, contributors or 
any other person who has supplied information to the investigation.  
Question 7  
Schedule 4, Part 6, Section 32(3) defines "interes ted parties" as "the governments of such 
foreign countries or territories, or such other persons, as may be specified in 
regulations…" Please clarify whether foreign producers are also considered interested 
parties. If not, what role does a foreign produce r have in an antidumping or countervailing 
duty proceeding?  
Reply : 
A foreign producer may be a party to an investigation or review by registering with the TRA as a 
contributor.  
Question 8  
Schedule 5, Part 2, Article 6(1)(a) of the Taxation Act of 2018 notes that the TRA may 
investigate "whether goods have been or are being imported into the United Kingdom in 
increased quantities". Article 9(1)(a) further states that an affirmative determina tion 
means that "the goods have been or are being imported into the United Kingdom in 
increased quantities". Please clarify how these provisions account for Article 2 of the WTO 
Agreement on Safeguards, which states that Members may apply a safeguard only if it has 
been determined that the imports are of such "increased quantities, absolute or relative 
to domestic productio n…" 
Reply : 
Paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 of the Taxation Act 2018 enables the TRA to carry out safeguarding 
investigations to establish whet her goods  are being imported in increased quantities and are causing 
serious injury or threat thereof to UK producers. Paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 5 of the Taxation Act 
2018 defines  "increased quantities " to mean "where the volume of imports of the goods increases, 
whether in absolute terms or relative to the total production in the United Kingdom ". Paragraph 9 
covers the determination the TRA may make at the provisional and final stages of a safeguarding 
investigation. The TRA can make an affirmativ e determination only on the basis of evidence that 
there has been a significant increase in imports, which is causing injury to UK producers. The TRA 
may recommend the imposition of provisional or definitive safeguard measures only following an 
affirmative  determination. These provisions fulfil the conditions under Article 2 of the Agreement on 
Safeguards regarding increased imports, serious injury or threat thereof, and the existence of a 
causal link between them.  
Question 9  
Part 5, Article 23 of Schedule 5 of the Taxation Act of 2018  discusses the economic interest 
test that the TRA or the Secretary of State must consider when deciding whether to impose 
a safeguard measure. However, it is not clear that interested parties have the opportunity 
to make their  views known as part of the economic interest test, or whether interested 
parties would be able to comment on the TRA or Secretary of State's determination of the 
economic interest test before a measure is implemented. Please confirm that interested 
partie s will have the opportunity to present comments and evidence about whether a 
safeguard measure would meet the economic interest test as well as an opportunity to 
comment on the TRA or Secretary of State's economic interest test asse ssment before a 
measure' s implementation.  
Reply : 
When the TRA  initiates a safeguards investigation or a review, it will gather evidence from interested 
parties and contributors firstly by issuing questionnaires and receiving written submissions. This G/ADP/Q1/GBR/4 • G/SCM/Q 1/GBR/4 • G/SG/Q1/GBR/4  
 
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  evidence will form part of the TRA 's assessment of economic interes t, alongside other elements of 
the investigation or review. Interested parties and contributors will have the opportunity to make 
their views known through this evidence -gathering process. They will also be able to present 
evidence at oral hearings that ca n be organised on request and make further submissions relevant 
to the economic interest test up to the point at which the TRA publishes its statement of intended 
final determination (in dumping and subsidy cases, this is known as the statement of essentia l facts).  
The statement is published once the TRA has completed its analysis. It will set out the final 
determination the TRA intends to make, and the evidence considered during the investigation or 
review, including as part of the initial economic interes t test  assessment. The TRA will communicate 
with interested parties who have supplied information to explain how the information was used to 
help the TRA reach its conclusion . The TRA will also publish this statement online on the 
Trade  Remedies Service an d will invite interested parties, contributors and anyone else who has 
supplied information to comment within a stated period. The TRA will consider those comments 
before making their final determination.  
The Secretary of State will then consider the TRA 's recommendation on whether or not to impose a 
measure . The Secretary of State may only reject the TRA 's recommendation to impose the measure 
if she is  satisfied that applying a safeguard does not meet the economic interest test or is not 
otherwise in the public interest . 
Further information on how the TRA will carry out the economic interest test can be found at: 
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the -uk-trade -remedies -investigations -process . 
 
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