It has now become even more cost effective to assemble bikes in the UK. Companies dealing with domestic bike assembly will be able to apply for blanket ADD exemption on Chinese imports. This is really big news for the UK’s bike industry.
By closing the gap between UK assembled bikes and Chinese imports companies can get a foothold. The main motivation to offshore both production and assembly is lower costs after all. This will allow the domestic industry to grow. While it’s not quite a full reshoring of industry it’s a step towards it.
Importers must apply for an exemption through the Trade Remedies Service. The application must also include evidence that the company is not related to an overseas exporter trying to circumvent the ADD. By freeing up domestic companies from anti dumping duties we are able to lower the costs of business and prices for the public.
This isn’t the perfect situation. Some of the trappings of offshore industry are still involved. Supply chain issues can still be a problem for example. As can environmental issues from international shipping and inefficient production methods. So by no means is this going to fix the bike industry’s problems. What it does do is put us on a track to improvement.
Removing anti dumping charges for UK assembly companies does alleviate these problems though. Assembled bikes take up quite a lot of space. That means more international shipping journeys are needed for the same amount of bikes. Slower supply chains, and high carbon costs result from this.
On the consumer level anti dumping charges drive up the cost of bikes. By gaining exemptions we can hopefully pass on these savings to the consumer. Increasing sales and lowering the carbon output of travel by encouraging active transport.
So no, this isn’t the perfect situation for reshoring industry, but it is a huge step forward towards reshoring industry. One that we hope can be built upon in the near future. For now it is an opportunity to grow the domestic industry while reducing the competition of Chinese assemblers.
