UK investigates dumping of extrusions from China

The UK’s Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) is investigating whether aluminium extrusions are being dumped in the UK by businesses in China.

The anti-dumping investigation into extrusions from China will cover aluminium bars, rods, profiles, tubes and pipes that entered the UK market in the period under investigation.

The TRA received an application by Hydro Aluminium UK Ltd, supported by UK producers whose collective output constitutes at least half of the total production in the UK. The TRA will now seek information from all interested parties in order to establish whether aluminium extrusions have been dumped in the UK, whether that has harmed UK industry and whether it would be in the UK’s interests for measures to be put in place to mitigate that harm. The investigation is expected to be concluded in the next 12 months.

The UK is one of the last major markets for extrusions not covered by anti-dumping duties against China. The EU, US, Canada, Australia, Vietnam have all introduced anti-dumping duties on Chinese extrusions. Gerd Götz, director general of European Aluminium, said: “In the EU alone, there are currently 73 trade defence measures in force that target products originating in China, including seven groups of aluminium products. Anti-dumping duties can act as a temporary band-aid but it’s clear we need a structural and global solution to address China’s unfair trade practices and we hope the agreements made during the recent G7 Summit will pave the way for modernised trade rules that can tackle them effectively.”