The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has recommended putting a new trade remedy measure in place to protect the UK’s optical fibre cable industry from harm caused by low-priced imports from China.
Optical fibre cable is used in the delivery of broadband services to homes and businesses. The TRA has been investigating whether imports of these products are being dumped in the UK at prices below what they would sell for in their home country.
Around 5.7 million fibre kilometres of optical fibre cable was sold in the UK in 2021, including UK producer sales and imported goods and the UK market is expected to grow over the next five years. This rise is expected to be driven by network upgrades as demand for broadband increases as well as the Government’s investment in broadband infrastructure, such as Project Gigabit – a £5 billion programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to access faster broadband. The TRA has estimated that UK-produced optical fibre accounts for around half of all UK consumption, with the rest of the market supplied by imports from China, India, the US, Poland and Germany.
During its investigation, the TRA determined that there is already damage to the UK industry, having found clear evidence of price undercutting, indicating that UK businesses are struggling to compete with the dumped imports. The TRA therefore recommended that the Secretary of State for International Trade put in place a provisional measure on these imports while it completes its investigation.
TRA Chief Executive Oliver Griffiths said:
“Optical fibre cable provides higher speeds and bandwidth and as such plays an important role in meeting the UK’s internet needs. The interim measures the TRA has recommended will ensure UK producers are able to compete with imports and are able to continue supplying this vital growth industry.”
The TRA’s initial conclusions are published on its public file in a Statement of Essential Facts (SEF). Interested parties to the case can register to comment on the findings and submit any additional evidence. The TRA will then assess any additional information and submit its final recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business & Trade for a decision.
The investigation was carried out in response to an application from a UK manufacturer and information was gathered from interested parties to establish whether imports had been dumped in the UK at prices below their normal value and whether this was harming the UK industry. The TRA also carried out an Economic Interest Test (EIT) to assess if it would be in the UK’s economic interest to put in place a trade remedy measure in the form of a tariff at the border, to mitigate any injury from the imports.
Under the new provisional measure, importers will need to provide a guarantee (in the form of cash, bond or bank guarantee) to HM Revenue and Customs that shows they can pay the duty that they may ultimately be required to pay on imports of these goods. This will help make sure UK businesses that make similar goods don’t suffer further damage from these imports while the TRA completes its investigation.
