In post-Brexit UK, responsibility for investigating unfair practices in international trade will be taken on by a new UK agency.
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) will take over the role presently practised by the European Commission.
Confirming that the new agency will be based in reading, the Department for International Trade (DIT) said that its powers are currently being created under the Trade Bill and the Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Bill, both of which passed their committee stage in Parliament earlier this year.
It will, the DIT confirmed, be set up by the time the UK leaves the EU.
While the UK remains a member of the Union, British companies that believe they are being harmed by unfair trade, such as dumping or by unexpected surges in imports, must ask the European Commission to investigate their concerns.
Once the UK has left the EU, however, companies will be able to ask the newly-created TRA to undertake those investigations on their behalf. Where their concerns are found to be justified, they can expect the authority to recommend appropriate action, such as imposing tariffs on goods entering the UK.
The DIT says it will provide details on the exact location and staffing of the TRA in due course.
