The UK government has decided to retain existing measures on imports of continuous glass fibre from China, as recommended by the TRA. This means the UK’s glass fibre industry, predominantly based in Wigan, will continue to be protected from injury caused by dumped and subsidised imports of glass fibre from China for five years, from January 31, 2021.

Glass fibres are used in the creation of wind turbine blades, which are integral to the UK government’s strategy to boost the country’s energy security. They are also used in industries such as transport (automotive, marine, aerospace), building and construction, and electric/electronics, as well as the manufacturing of various consumer goods.

After carrying out a transition review to assess if the measures on these imports were needed, the TRA recommended that both countervailing and anti-dumping measures be kept. The TRA found that imported products from China accounted for 8.44 per cent of total UK imports in 2020, making China the fifth largest source of imports of continuous filament glass fibre products, the UK government said in a press release.

The TRA recommended that the measures on some continuous filament glass fibre products be maintained at their current levels until 30 January 2026—this is five years after the date when the countervailing measure would have expired if no transition review had been carried out (January 31, 2021).

However, the TRA determined that mats made of glass fibre should be excluded from the measures. While mats of glass fibre produced in China are bought by multiple UK importers, the TRA found no evidence of UK production and there is no suggestion that mats imported from China would compete against other, domestically produced, forms of glass fibre.