UK Trade Changes Could Lower E-Bike Prices By $330

In the U.K. the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has announced that they intend to eliminate the anti-dumping duties it placed on Chinese e-bikes. Currently, the U.K. levies duties ranging from 18. percent at the low end up to a high of 79.3 percent on Chinese e-bikes.

The duties are meant to address dumping and government-subsidized manufacturing, which the U.K. implemented on January 19, 2024. The TRA will enter a 21-day waiting period to allow other government agencies to argue for or against lifting the duties. If no one argues against it, the duties will be terminated, and the decision will be back-dated to January 19, essentially wiping out the previous decision.

However, a final decision isn’t due until September, months after a new U.K. government is seated. The final decision will be rendered by the Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade.
The TRA is a new legislative body, one that was created following the U.K.’s exit from the European Union. It now handles duties that were once handled by the EU Commission.

Estimates suggest that the average e-bike price could be cut by $330 and sales could be boosted to the tune of an additional 31,000 units annually, according to the TRA. Cutting e-bike tariffs on Chinese imports could, the TRA believes, benefit the U.K. economy by as much as $65 million per year. Cutting prices to consumers could result in more people being able to afford safer e-bikes.

In a statement issued by the TRA, its Chief Executive Officer Oiver Griffiths said, “We always assess the impact of a trade remedy measure on the U.K. economy. Our interim conclusion is that the benefits to U.K. bicycle producers from continuing the current measures on e-bikes would be significantly outweighed by harm to the rest of the economy.”