UK government announces update on trade remedies framework

Article summary

Proposed changes to the UK's trade remedies regime have been set out in a statement by the Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade. The changes will be proposed in the Finance Bill and would give the UK government additional powers to decide the outcome of trade remedies investigations, while maintaining the independent investigatory and recommendation functions of the UK Trade Remedies Authority (TRA). The changes include the TRA taking responsibility for investigating bilateral safeguard cases, ministerial powers to request that the TRA provides alternative options to its recommendations, ministerial powers to override the TRA's Economic Interest Test and powers for the government to ask the TRA to re-evaluate a recommendation and powers for the government to take a different decision to that recommended by the TRA.