The TRA concluded that dumped imports of certain automotive and hydraulic lubricants had caused material injury to the UK lubricants industry and recommended the government impose five-year ad valorem tariffs on affected products entering the UK market.

While the decision was welcomed by UK lubricant manufacturers, some producers expressed concern that the ruling lacked transparency and could allow exporters to circumvent UK lubricant anti-dumping duties by routing shipments through alternative countries rather than directly from Lithuania or the UAE.

The rates of the duty remain unchanged from an interim determination published earlier this year.

“The TRA has not declared how it made its calculations or what evidence was put forward by Atlantic or Oscar,” said Mark Lord, director of Aztec Oils, a UK-based lubricant producer, in comments to Lube Report. “Given the reduced timeframe, I have concerns over these calculations.” Lord said he alerted the TRA in 2023 to what he described as unfair trading practices linked to Mannol-branded products.

The Trade Remedies Authority did not respond to requests for comment on Lord’s concerns by the time of publication.

“We will continue to monitor imports from that region, as we have already seen increased import activity from Saudi Arabia and Oman,” Lord said, adding that producers remain alert to trade diversion risks despite the introduction of UK lubricant anti-dumping duties.

Duties on Imported Products from the UAE and Lithuania

UAB SCT Lubricants (Lithuania): 84.72%
All other Lithuanian exporters (residual rate): 95.36%
Chempioil (UAE): 34.35%
SCT Chemicals FZE (UAE): 34.35%
Atlantic Grease and Lubricants FZE (UAE): 0.00%
All other UAE exporters (residual rate): 34.55%