UK Implements Measures to Guard Against Dumped Imports

By William Schomberg

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves announced steps on Wednesday to prevent the dumping of goods with unfairly low prices into the country which could surge as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump's sky-high tariff on imports from China.

Reeves, who wants to smooth the way for trade deals with the United States and other countries during a visit to Washington this week, said she would help retailers and other businesses who worry about the risk of cut-price competition, much of it from China, as the world's trade system is overhauled.

"This government is meeting the moment to protect fair and open trade," Reeves said in a statement.

"Today's package will help businesses compete fairly with international exporters, supporting a world economy that provides stability and fairness for working people and businesses alike." 

Britain's government will review the customs treatment of low-value imports which allows goods valued at 135 pounds ($179.66) or less to be imported without paying customs duty, a system that some retailers say puts them at a disadvantage.

Some British retailers have called for the loophole to be scrapped, saying e-commerce platforms like China's fast fashion group Shein are benefitting unfairly.

In the U.S., as well as pushing import tariffs for Chinese goods to 145% this month, Trump has closed a trade loophole that allowed low-value packages from China and Hong Kong to enter the United States free of duties.

Both measures could lead to exports from China which are no longer able to enter the U.S. being diverted to markets in Europe and elsewhere, pushing down prices.

The UK finance ministry said other new measures included increased support for businesses seeking to report unfair trade practices, better monitoring of trade data and an acceleration of measures to prevent import surges.

Britain's anti-dumping office - which was set up after the country left the European Union - will focus more of its work on helping small and medium sized companies to show evidence of unfair trade practices and speed up investigations.

The measures might also win favour within the Trump administration which has ratcheted up trade pressure on China.

Beijing on Monday warned countries against striking economic deals with the United States at China's expense.

A group representing British retailers welcomed the announcement of the review into the customs treatment of low-value imports and said speed was of the essence.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said action had long been needed and "with retailers seeing a rise in the number of potentially non-compliant products entering the UK market, it's even more critical now."

($1 = 0.7514 pounds)

(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)