Investigations timelines
How long the TRA should take conducting investigations.
Businesses wanting to understand trade remedies should read trade remedies: investigating dumped or subsidised goods for information on the investigations process and the actions you need to take.
This guidance uses shortened names when referring to legislation:
- ‘dumping and subsidisation regulations’ refers to the Trade Remedies (Dumping and Subsidisation) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
- ‘safeguards regulations’ refers to the Trade Remedies (Increase in Imports Causing Serious Injury to UK Producers) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
- ‘TCBT Act’ refers to the Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act 2018
This legislation has been amended, including by:
- schedule 19 of the Finance (No.2) Act 2023
- the Trade Remedies (Increase in Imports Causing Serious Injury to UK Producers) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2023
The TRA should undertake all investigations and reviews in an efficient and timely manner. The WTO Agreement sets out timeframes and requirements for investigations and reviews.
In the early stages of each new investigation, transition review and other types of reviews, the TRA will publish an indicative timeline on the public file for the relevant case, including targets for providing a final recommendation to the Secretary of State. When setting indicative timeline targets, the TRA should do so in a way that both provides Ministers with sufficient time on which to take an evidence-based decision following the TRA’s final recommendation and to implement the decision within the timeframes stipulated by the WTO. In some cases, the TRA may not be able to meet these indicative time frames.
Where the TRA is unable to meet its own milestones in the initial case timeline, it should publish a note to the relevant case file, providing a new intended delivery date, before then informing the Secretary of State.
Where the TRA is unable to meet a maximum time frame, as specified in the relevant WTO Agreements, it must provide an explanation directly to the Secretary of State, in support of the UK’s responsibilities to the WTO.