The U.K. on April 22 extended its countervailing duty on biodiesel from Argentina for five years following a review of the duties by the Trade Remedies Authority. The extension takes effect April 23 and ends Feb. 13, 2029. The U.K. also excluded sustainable aviation fuel from the scope of the duties as part of its decision. The duties themselves range from 25% to 33.4% and include a 33.4% rate for all non-individually examined companies.
The European Commission on April 11 extended its antidumping duties on monosodium glutamate (MSG) from China to cover imports from Malaysia, following an anti-circumvention investigation on Malaysian MSG. The commission said the investigation found that the exports had "increased significantly" following the imposition of duties on Chinese MSG due to duty evasion. The move imposes 39.7% AD on Malaysian MSG. The commission said it uncovered assembly operations with Chinese raw materials to which less than 25% value was added, along with transshipment of Chinese MSG via Malaysia.
China opened a dispute at the World Trade Organization on April 8 on the U.S. reciprocal tariffs, claiming that the duties violate the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, the Agreement on Customs Valuation and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. China's challenge covers the 34% additional tariff on Chinese imports that is set to take effect April 9, along with the 10% duty on imports from all trading partners, which took effect on April 5.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of Finance extended the period of an antidumping duty investigation on graphite electrodes from China by three months, until July 23. METI said the extension is to "carefully review the evidence and relevant documents submitted by interested parties, while ensuring full transparency and fairness throughout the investigation process." The investigation was launched in April 2024 and recently saw the agency impose a 95.2% provisional AD on Chinese graphite electrodes, effective March 29 (see 2503250022).
The EU is growing increasingly concerned about Beijing's use of export controls and trade remedies as retaliatory tools against other nations, a senior European Commission official said this week.
Japan imposed provisional antidumping duties on graphite electrodes from China after determining the imports caused a "material injury to domestic industry," the Ministry of Finance announced March 25. The duty rate is set at 95.2% and takes effect March 29 and is in effect through July 28.
The World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body on March 24 heard a request from China to establish a panel in its dispute against the EU's countervailing duties on new battery electric vehicles from China. The DSB "took note" of statements made by China and the EU and said it would "revert to this matter should a requesting member wish to do so."
The European Commission on March 19 imposed definitive antidumping duties on glass fiber yarns from China after finding that "significant Chinese overcapacity" of the yarn injured the EU industry. The duties range from 26.3% to 56.1%.
The European Commission imposed countervailing duties on aluminum road wheels from Morocco on March 14, setting duties of 5.6% on exporters "benefitting purely from the Moroccan subsidies" and 31.4% on exporters "benefitting from both Moroccan and Chinese [Belt and Road Initiative] financial contributions." The commission said its CVD investigation found that the Moroccan government was providing subsidies to its automotive industry through "grants, loans at preferential rates, and tax exemptions/reductions" that are incompatible with World Trade Organization rules. In addition, the investigation revealed that China made "direct cross-border financial contributions" to one of the two Moroccan exporters in the industry.
The U.K. on March 13 revoked the antidumping duty order on chamois leather from China after the Trade Remedies Authority conducted a transition review of the order and found that there were no U.K. producers of the subject merchandise in the period of investigation. The duties were revoked for goods falling under U.K. global tariff commodity codes 4114.10.10.00 and 4114.10.90.00.