Preferential and anti-dumping duty rates are agreed and imposed by the U.K. Government to encourage or discourage import of particular commodities from other countries. This is to maintain the economy in certain industries by regulating the way that goods are introduced into the market.
Different countries have different costs in materials and labour. This enables some countries to produce commodities at far lower costs than others. “Dumping” is when traders in these industries flood another market with these cheaper goods, effectively reducing the economic viability of domestic businesses.
In order to promote “fair trade practices”, countries impose anti-dumping duty or safeguarding duties on goods to protect national businesses who cannot compete with the lower costs of production in other countries. This is so that trade between companies inside the same country, or within the same territory in the EU’s scenario, can be promoted to boost the economy internally.
What is anti-dumping duty?
Anti-dumping duty is additional duty that is levied on goods originating from a particular country, in order to bring the cost of import up to a level similar to that of the internal market or other competing countries that have higher costs of production. The result is that these countries with lower production costs are then unable to flood the foreign market with cheaper alternatives to domestic companies inside the same region.
Anti-dumping and surveillance duties can trigger trade-war-like responses from exporting countries in an attempt to have the levies reduced or removed. For example, the EU imposed anti-dumping levies on solar panels from China, and China imposed higher duty on wine from the EU shortly afterwards.
What is preferential duty?
In contrast to anti-dumping duty, preferential duty rates are discounts that are imposed when imports from a particular country are encouraged. These are usually more underdeveloped countries that require the preference to make trade more economically viable, or with whom the importing country has a trade deal.
To benefit from preferential duty rate, the country of origin must be declared by a statement on the invoice or by having certificate of origin.
The 3 types of preferential origin are as follows:
Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)
The Generalised System of Preferences (also referred to as the Generalised Scheme of Preferences) is presented on a GSP or Form A certificate. GSP preference can also be granted by having a Registered Exporter (REX) statement on the invoice in some countries (EG. The EU).
In addition to GSP preference, there is also a second level of preference called GSP+. This is reserved for the most underdeveloped countries, and can provide 0% duty on commodities where regular GSP only offers a discount.
The EUR1 movement certificate is similar to the GSP certificate, but is used by countries who are outside of the GSP. These countries have preferential trade agreements with the EU or U.K., and the EUR1 certificate is used to provide the importer with proof of origin for
customs clearance purposes.
Preferential import from Turkey (Previously ATR1 Certificates)
ATR1 certificates are used on imports from Turkey to claim lower duty rates in the EU, similar to the GSP and EUR1 certificates.
However, since Brexit, the ATR1 form has been withdrawn from use on U.K. imports. The U.K. has signed a trade deal with Turkey that requires the use of a REX statement on the commercial invoice, instead.
Do you need help with preferential or anti-dumping duty?
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