Guidance

Reviews of safeguard measures

Updated 25 April 2024

Legal framework

The guidance reflects the changes introduced by the Finance (No.2) Act 2023 and the Trade Remedies (Increase in Imports Causing Serious Injury to UK Producers) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2023. It is produced for explanatory purposes only and is not intended to supplant or modify the application or interpretation of the relevant legislation.

Primary legislation in the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 (the Taxation Act)

Paragraph 21 of Schedule 5 to the Taxation Act sets out the form the variation of the application of a safeguard measure may take following a review by the TRA.

Secondary legislation in the Trade Remedies (Increase in Imports Causing Serious Injury to UK Producers) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the Safeguard Regs)

Part 6 of the Safeguard Regs contains regulations to review existing safeguard measures including the initiation and conduct of reviews.

World Trade Organization – relevant agreements

Article XIX (Emergency Action on Imports of Particular Products) of The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) sets out the principles of the use of safeguard measures. The Agreement on Safeguards, particularly Article 7, provides further requirements in relation to reviews.

Types of reviews

Safeguard measures may be subject to a number of different types of review while they are in operation:

• Extension review
• Mid-term review
• Discontinuation review
• Tariff rate quota review
• Early review

Conduct of reviews

The conduct of safeguard reviews follows similar stages as our investigation process when considering new safeguard measures.

The TRA may initiate a review following the receipt of an application made by or on behalf of UK producers, or on its own initiative. If we decide to initiate a review, we will notify the Secretary of State of our decision. We will then inform the applicant that the application has been accepted (if relevant).

When we initiate, we will publish a notice of initiation online through the Trade Remedies Service. We will invite interested parties and contributors to register on the case and provide relevant information through questionnaires or other submissions. We will use the information provided, along with information from secondary sources, for our assessments and calculations as appropriate.

In reviews where we determine that an existing safeguarding measure should be extended, we will also carry out the economic interest test before we make our recommendation to the Secretary of State. More information on the economic interest test and how we make our recommendations is given further below.

Further information on how we conduct investigations can be found in the TRA’s investigation process guidance.

Extension reviews

An extension review is designed to establish whether or not a safeguard should be extended.

Initiation

An extension review can be requested by or on behalf of the UK producers or we can self-initiate.

We will normally notify interested parties of the expiry of the measure in sufficient time to allow them to make an extension review application. An application must not be made more than 12 months before the safeguard measure is due to expire.

An application must include sufficient information that allows us to consider whether:

• the importation of the goods subject to review in increased quantities is likely to recur;
• serious injury is likely to continue or recur if the application of the definitive safeguarding remedy is not extended; and
• UK producers have (partially) implemented their adjustment plans.

Analysis

When we carry out an extension review, we will consider a number of questions, including but not limited to the following:

• whether it is likely that the import of the goods subject to review in increased quantities will recur;
• whether the serious injury has been removed or reduced, in part or wholly due to the existing measure;
• whether it is likely that serious injury will recur if the measure is not extended;
• whether the circumstances of UK producers, or domestic or overseas market conditions are such that the serious injury caused by the importation of the goods subject to review in increased quantities is likely to recur;
• what adjustments the UK producers have made.

Outcome

The possible outcomes of an extension review are:

• the measure expires on the date given in the original public notice
• the measure is extended but not varied.
• the measure is extended and varied by changing its form and/or pace of liberalisation.

Mid-term review

During a mid-term review we assess whether a measure is still necessary to remove or prevent serious injury, or to facilitate the adjustment of the UK industry to the increased imports of the goods subject to the safeguarding remedy. Our review must also consider whether an alternative measure (a safeguard amount or a tariff rate quota) would be a better way to remove or prevent serious injury or to help affected UK producers adjust.

Initiation

If a safeguard measure is put in place for longer than three years, we will carry out a mid-term review no later than halfway through this period.

Analysis

When we carry out a mid-term review, we may consider a number of questions, including but not limited to the following:

• whether the circumstances under which the original remedy was applied have significantly changed;
• how likely it is that serious injury to domestic industry will recur if the remedy was revoked;
• whether the serious injury has been removed or reduced, in part or wholly due to the existing safeguard remedy;
• whether the pace of liberalisation of the remedy is appropriate. (We may look at the UK producers’ adjustment plans in order to help answer this question)

Outcome

There are three possible outcomes of a mid-term review:

• the remedy is maintained unchanged
• the remedy is changed in its level, form or pace of liberalisation
• the remedy is revoked.

Discontinuation review

A discontinuation review considers whether a safeguard remedy should be revoked.

Initiation

We can self-initiate a discontinuation review where we have sufficient information that:

• there has been a lasting change in circumstances since the safeguard remedy was imposed, and
• the UK producers are not suffering or will not suffer serious injury if the measure is revoked

Analysis

When we carry out a discontinuation review, we will consider a number of questions, including but not limited to the following:  

• whether there been a lasting change of circumstances since the remedy was imposed;
• whether UK producers have ceased suffering serious injury or would not suffer serious injury if the safeguard measure is revoked.

Outcome

There are two possible outcomes of a discontinuation review: 

• the measure is maintained
• the measure is revoked

Tariff rate quota review

A tariff rate quota review considers whether a tariff rate quota (TRQ) should be varied and is carried out if we have sufficient information to indicate that there may have been a change in circumstances since the TRQ was applied.

Initiation

We may initiate a TRQ review following an application from or made on behalf of an interested party, or on our own initiative.

We may reject a request for a review where it is made less than six months since one of the following has been concluded:

• a safeguard investigation
• mid-term review
• extension review

Analysis

When we carry out a TRQ review, we will consider whether there has been any change in circumstances since the TRQ was imposed.

We may also consider the following:

• whether the amount and allocation of the tariff rate quota is appropriate for the UK’s domestic market conditions;
• how the tariff rate quota aligns with maintaining traditional trade flows.

For these purposes, a change of circumstances may, among other things, be:

• the fact that the tariff rate quota, or any part of it, has been exhausted
• a change in demand for the relevant goods
• the effect of an anti-dumping amount or countervailing amount being applied to the relevant goods or like goods and directly competitive goods in the UK
• trade diversion following the imposition of anti-dumping, countervailing, safeguard or other trade measures by a foreign country or territory
• the impact of the tariff rate quota on traditional trade flows
• the fact that imports from a developing country member of the WTO which had been excluded from the safeguard remedy should now be included
• the fact that imports from a developing country member of the WTO which had not been excluded from the safeguard remedy should now be excluded

In carrying out the review, we are not required to make any assessments about increased quantities of imports, or about injury or causation. Nor are we required to consider what would be an adequate amount to prevent serious injury due to any increase in imports of the goods.

Outcome

The possible outcomes of a tariff rate quota review are:

• the tariff rate quota is maintained.
• the amount or allocation of the tariff rate quota in relation to some or all goods subject to review may be varied. Variation may also include varying the pace of liberalisation. Any variation will not reduce the rate of import duty or vary the period for which the goods are subject to the measure.
• the tariff rate quota is revoked for all or some of the goods subject to review. For this to happen, there will need to be sufficient evidence that UK producers have stopped producing these goods.

Early review

During an early review we assess whether a measure imposed following a safeguard investigation or a safeguard review (except for early reviews) should be varied or revoked.

Initiation

An early review may be requested by the Secretary of State within 60 days of the application, variation, extension or suspension of a definitive safeguard measure if they consider that there is new information that we did not take into account in our investigation or review, we made an error in our recommendation, or there are exceptional circumstances.

Before making such a request, the Secretary of State must consult with us.

Analysis

In conducting an early review of a definitive safeguard measure, we must have regard to any particular considerations which the Secretary of State may have specified in the request.

The specific analysis will vary in accordance with the ground for the request of the review.

Outcome

The possible outcomes of an early review are:

• the measure is maintained.
• the measure is varied.
• the measure is revoked.

Making a recommendation

Following the review, we will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State as to whether the safeguarding remedy should be varied, extended, or revoked.

Where in relation to an early review, a mid-term review, or an extension review, we consider that there are two or more options we would recommend, we may give the Secretary of State each of those options as part of our recommendation. We must consider whether we could give the Secretary of State two or more options (i) in the case of an extension review where we consider that the extension of the safeguarding remedy in accordance with our proposed recommendation would not meet the economic interest test or (ii) where we otherwise consider it appropriate.

Where we consider there is only one option that we can reasonably recommend, we will give the Secretary of State our reasons for that conclusion. Where we do give the Secretary of State options, we will explain our reasons for each option and inform them which is our preferred option and why.

In the case of an extension review, where we recommend that the safeguarding remedy should be extended, we will advise the Secretary of State whether and why we consider that extending the measure (and any other options we have recommended) would meet the economic interest test. Further information on how we conduct the economic interest test can be found in our Applying the Economic Interest Test guidance.

Once we have concluded whether measures should be maintained, varied or revoked (as relevant to the review type), we will record our findings in a report, our Statement of Intended Final Determination. Interested parties and contributors are invited to provide comments which we will consider before making our Final Determination.

Once we have made a recommendation to the Secretary of State, they may accept or reject that recommendation. Except for early reviews, they may also ask us to reassess our recommendation if they consider that there is relevant information that we did not take into account, if there is an error in our recommendation or there are exceptional circumstances. We may then make a revised recommendation. If there is insufficient time for us to conduct a reassessment and submit a reassessed final recommendation within applicable WTO time limits of the relevant review, the Secretary of State may give effect to our original recommendation but ask us to initiate an early review.

The Secretary of State may also take a different decision if they find that an alternative measure is in the public interest. In doing so, they may ask us to provide further advice, information or other support to allow them to make their decision.

Further information on how we conduct investigations can be found in the TRA’s investigation process guidance.

Termination of reviews

A review applicant may request us to terminate a review. If we consider this appropriate, we will notify the Secretary of State and interested parties.

We will then publish a notice of termination which will provide a summary of the review to date, the date the notice comes into effect and the reasons for termination.

If a termination request made by the applicant has been rejected, we will publish a notice which gives the reasons for doing so and we will notify interested parties and contributors.