Anti-dumping duties will be applied to truck and bus tyres imported from China, but not entirely in the manner recommended by the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA). These revised measures take effect today.
This time last year, Tyres & Accessories reflected on the changes witnessed in the sources of commercial vehicle tyre imports into the 27 countries of the European Union and the United Kingdom (EU27+UK) since the EU’s tariffs regime and the change accelerant of the Covid pandemic. In 2017, China was supplying 65 per cent of all imports in this market, which at that point measured a little more than 7 million units. With Turkey the source of around 10 per cent, and Korea and Japan supplying around 5 per cent each, only around 15 per cent of CV tyre imports were sourced outside these four countries.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced preliminary findings in its investigation into whether truck and bus tyres imported from Thailand are selling in the United States at unfairly low prices. This comes after the USA saw a significant increase in these tyre imports, which more than doubled in quantity over two years, reaching a value of US$1.46 billion in 2022.
The rapid growth of a manufacturing base largely across Asia has seen a swift evolution in the source of truck tyre imports in the European Union and UK. A new analysis conducted by leading tyre market analyst Astutus Research for Tyres & Accessories shows that Thailand has soared into a leading position in this segment, accounting for 26.3 per cent of truck tyre imports in 2023. Turkey (20.6 per cent) and more recently Vietnam (15.0 per cent) have also overtaken the previously dominant China (14.5 per cent) as leading sources of truck tyres in Europe (defined as the EU27 plus UK).
The United States Department of Commerce has released the results of its anti-dumping review of imported passenger car and light truck tyres (PCR) made in Thailand. The result of the re-examination investigation is consistent with the preliminary one and its good news for Thai tyre manufacturing plants. The release of the result also means PCR products produced in Thailand are expected to enter the United States market in large quantities soon.
The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) has recommended that the country’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel, impose definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of passenger car, truck and bus tyres from China. The Minister has approved ITAC’s recommendation. Duties will range from 7.18% to 43.60% ad valorem and remain in place until July 2028.
India’s anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made TBR tyres are scheduled to expire this month, but tyre association ATMA requested a review of these on behalf of Apollo Tyres, JK Tyre & Industries and MRF. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies published the results of this Sunset Review on 16 September, recommending the government continue charging duties for a further three years.
South Africa’s International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) announced in January that it would look at allegations of dumping levelled against importers of tyres from China. This investigation is still ongoing, but opponents warn that if authorities decide to apply duties to these products, the cost of tyres could increase by up to 41 per cent, with price rises for transportation and essential products a knock-on effect.
The Zhongce Rubber Group (ZC Rubber) was excluded from the list of applicable companies in the European Courts of Justice’s 4 May 2022 ruling annulling import tariffs against truck tyres produced in China. Reading the small print of the ruling reveals why. The initial ruling didn’t completely apply to ZC Rubber and so action against it couldn’t be annulled. In other words, the latest anti-dumping annulment is inadmissible for ZC Rubber, because nothing was applied in the first place.
The USA will continue to apply anti-dumping and countervailing duties to passenger vehicle and light truck (PLT) tyres from China. The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) decided against ending the charging of duties, which have applied to these products since 2015, after determining that doing so would “likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.” Unsurprisingly, the United Steelworkers union applauds the decision.
The 2020 Budget that India is scheduled to present on 1 February is expected to include changes to basic customs or import duty on more than 300 products. Tyres are one of them, and prices for tyres imported into India may soon rise dramatically. In its recommendations to the country’s Ministry of Finance, India’s Commerce and Industry Ministry has proposed increasing customs duty on pneumatic tyres, now 10-15 per cent, to 40 per cent.
The European Union has made its conclusive statement on the introduction of anti-dumping tariffs on truck and bus tyres and retreads manufactured in China. As previously announced, the EU will impose fixed rate anti-dumping duties on the products, with the final regulation 2018/1579 implemented from 23 October. This ends speculation that percentage rates could be applied. In fact, the EU has revised tariff levels up, almost across the board.
As of tomorrow (8 May 2018), the European Union will apply anti-dumping duties to certain Chinese-made truck and bus tyres entering the European Union.
Titan International’s final injury hearing before the US International Trade Commission (ITC) took place on 4 January, and today the company will file a post hearing brief. The off-road tyre specialist says it “remains optimistic” that the ITC will issue a final affirmative determination in these cases.
The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made truck and bus tyres imported into the USA.
In a preliminary determination, DOC anti-dumping duties of between 20.87 per cent to 22.57 per cent would be applied to products. These duties are in addition to countervailing duties recommend for the same products in June. As a result, total import tariffs of around 40 per cent are expected.
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Prinx Chengshan
Tyrepress.com / Stephen Goodchild
