GCC countries announce the imposition of anti-dumping measures on imports of electrical components from China

In brief

Dubai Customs and the Saudi General Authority of Foreign Trade (“GAFT”) have publicly announced the imposition of anti-dumping measures on the import of electrical fittings, switches, plugs, and sockets for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 volts, originating from or exported by the People’s Republic of China.

These announcements follow the conclusion of the investigation initiated by the Gulf Cooperation Council Secretariat General (“GCC SG”) on 30 May 2023, concluded on 18 August 2024, which is available on the GCC SG’s website (only in Arabic).

The announcements can be found here for Dubai Customs, and here for the Saudi GAFT. Other government authorities in the GCC are also expected to publish the implementation of these measures in the next few weeks.

In detail

On 30 May 2023, the GCC SG initiated an anti-dumping investigation on the import of electrical fittings, switches, plugs, and sockets for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 volts, originating from or exported by the People’s Republic of China, which was concluded with the imposition of definitive anti-dumping measures on such items when imported into the GCC.

Items concerned

The announced anti-dumping measures apply to the following GCC common tariff codes:

• 85 36 50 10 - Electrical switches consisting of optical jointed output and input circuits.

• 85 36 50 20 - Electronic switches, including electronic switches protected against temperature, consisting of transistor and chip (chip-on-chip technique) for a voltage not exceeding 1,000 volts.

• 85 36 50 30 - Rapid movement electromechanical switches for current not exceeding 11 ampere.

• 85 36 50 90 - Electric switches.

• 85 36 69 10 - Plugs and sockets for co-axial wires and printed circuits.

• 85 36 69 20 - Plugs and sockets.

• 85 44 42 21 - Electric connectors for wire of a cross-section not exceeding 10 mm.

• 85 44 42 91 - Other electric connectors.

 Anti-dumping duty

Anti dumping rates and targeted producers

The definitive anti-dumping duty will be collected as a percentage of the customs value of the items on a CIF basis (Cost, Insurance and Freight), and the applicable rates vary between 11.3% and 42%, according to the following table:

Note 

*Refers to 34 non sampling cooperating companies of Chinese Exporting Producers, which can be found on Appendix 1 of the Official Gazette of the GCC Bureau of Technical Secretariat for Anti Injurious Practices in International Trade, vol. 47 (20 August 2024).

The Takeaway

The imposed anti-dumping measures apply to eight different customs codes at rates between 11.3% and 42%, which will be added to the applicable duty rate for the concerned items when imported into the GCC.

We recommend businesses engaged in importing these goods from China into GCC countries to assess how the announced measurements impact the cost of such goods, and potentially explore alternative sourcing origins from a supply chain perspective, as appropriate.