Tyre Recovery Association’s vibrant forum demonstrates necessary focus on UK sector
When DME Tyres’ Bill Clarke, the Tyre Recovery Association’s president, addressed the impressively large number of delegates from across the tyre sector at the 2024 Briefing Day (Tuesday 24 September, Leamington Spa), he was in no mood to mince his words. “I don’t think the UK recycling industry can survive in its current form…with one hand tied behind its back,” he said, summing up many years of frustration for the TRA and its members. With a new government slowly – too slowly, perhaps – setting out its legislative agenda, his dramatic rhetorical tone was understandable. With several issues coming to a head, led by an end-of-life tyre (ELT) export situation that is, in every sense, unsustainable, and evolving UK legislation governing waste carriers, brokers and dealers (CBD), the association and its forum speakers demonstrated an increased urgency about the tyre recovery situation.
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UN briefing calls for further tyre particulate research and legislation
On 24 August the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) published a foresight brief on the subject of “Vehicle Tyre particles in the environment”. Written by a panel of academics and researchers – namely Reto Gieré, University of Pennsylvania; Jaydee Edwards, University of Pennsylvania; Volker Dietrich, German Meteorological Service; Radek Stoček, Polymer Research Lab and Tomáš Bata University, Zlín; as well as Gert Heinrich, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany – the briefing basically called for more work on the part of road, automotive and tyre industry stakeholders and ultimately better policy-based controls from governments.
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Tyre News in Numbers September 2024
Tyres & Accessories’ monthly Tyres News in Numbers’ column boils down the latest tyre industry news to the most important statistics of the month. Below, we look at the big numbers from the September 2024 magazine. £110.11: The maximum import tariff per tyre on Chinese-produced truck and bus tyres recommended by the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority (TRA)...
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Shipping industry warned about tyre exports, TRA welcomes EA guidance
At the end of 2023, India’s Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) released a report which stated that India imported approximately 800,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres (ELT) between April and November 2023. The UK and EU member nations being the primary contributors. The UK was identified as one of the leading exporters of ELTs to India, supplying as much as 30 per cent of their import market. On 3 September, the EA clarified its position on the illegal export of ELTs to India for pyrolysis. Any waste export must be accompanied by a fully completed Annex VII. In response, the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) welcomed the EA’s statement of responsibilities and particularly the fact that it explicitly states that any waste export must be accompanied by a fully completed Annex VII.
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Hankook data played a key role in UK truck tyre tariff recommendation
The news that the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has decided to recommend import tariffs of up to £110.11 per tyre on imports of Chinese-produced truck and bus tyres to the secretary of state has attracted understandable interest. A couple of days after the initial recommendation was made, Tyres & Accessories has discovered further details both of the recommendations themselves and about how tariffs came to be recalculated.
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Chinese-produced bicycle tyres also being investigated
Four days earlier (on 23 August 2024), TRA initiated a transition review into anti-dumping measure on bicycles and certain bicycle parts from China. These bicycles are being imported from China and consigned from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia.
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TRA recommends duties of up to £110 on Chinese-produced truck tyres
The UK’s Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has published its initial findings on two transition reviews into anti-dumping and countervailing measures on lorry and bus tyres imported from China. Based on evidence provided, the TRA has recommended that the new combined anti-dumping and countervailing duty rates range from £10.03 per tyre to £110.11 per tyre.
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Hankook’s Chongqing factory fined for environmental issues
Hankook’s factory in Chongqing, China, was fined 251,000 yuan (about £27,000; 32,000) by the Chinese Environmental Protection Department for not “storing hazardous waste” according to standards.
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Michelin welcomes regulations for worn tyre performance
Changes to UN/ECE Regulation No. 117 (R117) came into effect on 1 July 2024 and extend the regulation to include limits related to the wet grip properties of worn tyres. Michelin, which has long advocated for tyres that are safe right down to the 1.6mm legal tread depth limit, expresses strong support for the updated R117-04. In a statement issued this week, the tyre maker praises R117-04 for its role in “guaranteeing better safety on the roads” while also “addressing the issues of protecting both the planet and the purchasing power of European motorists.”
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Stimulating growth, electric vehicle infrastructure and addressing the skills shortage
Shortly after the UK Labour Party completed its landslide victory in the General Election, ushering in the first major change of the UK government’s leading party in 14 years, associations from the country’s automotive value chain detailed what challenges await the new prime minister Keir Starmer and his incoming administration over the next five years.
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ETRMA joins call for greater FP10 investment
The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) has joined 109 other European associations in urging the European Union institutions to allocate increased resources to the forthcoming European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10).
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European Commission conducts further antitrust raids
The European Commission has confirmed it is carrying out “unannounced inspections” in connection with raids at the offices of a number of tyremakers earlier in the year. This round of raids, however, has only taken place at the premises of “a consultancy firm” in two member states, which suggests the case is beginning to focus its attention.
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EU to Impose Additional Tariffs on EV Imports From China
The European Union is planning to impose additional import tariffs of up to 38.1 per cent on Chinese-produced electric vehicles (EV) effective July 2024. Leading Chinese EV-makers BYD Co., Geely Automotive Holdings Ltd. and SAIC Motor Corp Ltd cooperated with the investigation and so received bespoke rates. Specifically, BYD imports will be charged 17.4 per cent, Geely 20 per cent and SAIC 38.1 per cent. All others will be charged 38.1 per cent.
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NFDA urges Government rethink into EV price incentives
Sue Robinson, chief executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers in the UK, urged the Government to rethink price incentives.
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Nova Motorsport acquires Camac
Following the news that the company will be producing certain Avon-branded motorsport tyres, Nova Motorsport has announced “its acquisition of leading tyre producer, Camac”. No details relating to the terms of acquisition have been released.
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