Clear protection for British glass: provisional measure imposed

Like glass containers, the Trade Remedies Authority’s (TRA) mission is clear: to protect UK businesses from unfair international trade.

That’s why the TRA has recommended that the UK Government should impose a provisional anti-dumping measure on Chinese imports of glass containers to help protect British producers until it completes its investigation into the imports.

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade has accepted the TRA’s recommendation for provisional measures to be placed on imports of the goods in question, with tariffs of up to 53%. The measure will come into effect from 9 September.

Glass containers include bottles, flasks, jars, pots and phials used to preserve and protect goods such as food, jam, cosmetics and perfumes. The UK’s glass container production sector supports thousands of jobs and adds hundreds of millions of pounds to the country’s economy.

The TRA’s recommendation is the result of its ongoing anti-dumping investigation into imports of glass containers from China. The investigation has found on a preliminary basis that the goods concerned have been or are being dumped into the UK at prices lower than they are sold in their home country and that this has caused or is causing injury to the UK industry. The TRA has found evidence of undercutting and price suppression during the period of investigation.

TRA Chief Executives Jessica Blakely and Carmen Suarez said:

“Glass containers are a staple item used in consumer goods ranging from food to fragrance. The manufacture of these containers is not only key for UK supply chains but also supports thousands of jobs.

Our ongoing investigation has uncovered preliminary evidence that glass containers from China are being dumped into the UK market, causing injury to UK producers.

In line with the TRA’s mission to defend UK economic interests and our ambition to be more agile, assertive, and accessible, we have acted swiftly to protect UK producers from unfair trade competition.”

Affected importers will be notified that they must provide a guarantee to pay the anti-dumping duty when importing the relevant goods into the UK. Interested parties and contributors to the investigation are invited to respond to the TRA’s provisional recommendations on the public case file.

Background

• The Trade Remedies Authority is the independent UK body that investigates whether new trade remedy measures are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports.
• The TRA is an arm’s length body of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
• Anti-dumping duties allow a country or union to act against goods which are being sold at less than their normal value – this is defined as the price for ‘like goods’ sold in the exporter’s home market.
• In any investigation, the TRA can make a Provisional Affirmative Determination (PAD), which allows temporary duties to be imposed while the full investigation is completed. Imposing these provisional measures is optional and the TRA only recommends providing them when we consider that they can play a key role in protecting the domestic industry.
• The PAD requires all importers of the goods to give a guarantee in respect of the estimated anti-dumping duty applicable to their imports, for a period of six months from 9 September or until a definitive remedy is implemented, whichever is sooner. The guarantee can take the form of a bank guarantee, bond or cash.
• The sampled UK producers in the TRA’s investigation employed approximately 2099 people and generated £244 million in gross value added (GVA).
• The TRA began its investigation on 5 March 2026.
• The TRA is also conducting an anti-subsidy investigation into imports of glass containers from Turkey. You can find out more about live investigations on the TRA’s public file.

SOURCE: GOV