From Tire Review

Preliminary anti-dumping duties for certain passenger and light truck tires imported from China were set on Jan. 21 by the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration. The duty rates vary between 19.17 percent and 87.99 percent before adjustments.

As a result of the investigation, the following companies were handed a 19.17 percent duty rate before adjustments:
Giti Tire Global Trading Pte. Ltd., Giti Tire (USA) Ltd., Giti Tire (Anhui) Co. Ltd., Giti Tire (Fujian) Co. Ltd., and Giti Tire (Hualin) Co. Ltd./Giti Tire (Anhui)
Co. Ltd., Giti Tire (Fujian) Co. Ltd. and Giti Tire (Hualin) Co. Ltd.

The followings companies were given a 27.72 percent duty rate before adjustments: Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Goodyear Dalian Tire Co.
Ltd., Bridgestone (Wuxi) Tire Co. Ltd., Cheng Shin Tire & Rubber (China) Co. Ltd., Hankook Tire China Co. Ltd., Kenda Rubber (China) Co. Ltd., Kumho Tire Co. Inc., Pirelli Tyre Co. Ltd., Shandong Linglong Tyre Co. Ltd., Qingdao Nexen Tire Corp. and Toyo Tire (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd.

The following companies were issued a 36.26 percent rate before adjustments: Sailun Group Co. Ltd., Sailun Tire International Corp., Shandong Jinyu Industrial Co. Ltd., Jinyu International Holding Co. Ltd., Seatex International Inc., Dynamic Tire Corp., Husky Tire Corp., and Seatex PTE. Ltd./Sailun Group Co. Ltd. and Shandong Jinyu Industrial Co. Ltd.

The DOC has chosen to offset the rates of certain importers based on the amount of export subsidies and the estimated domestic subsidy pass-through. As a result, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.’s adjusted rate is 20.75 percent; Giti’s adjusted rate is 18.72 percent; the Sailun Group’s adjusted rate is 29.01 percent; and those importers originally given a 27.72 percent rate (with the exception of Cooper) will receive an adjusted rate of 20.47 percent. The DOC also set a 87.99 percent China-wide rate for any company not previously listed.

The DOC will make a final determination on anti-dumping duties on or about June 12, 2015.

In late November, the DOC also set a range of countervailing duties on specific tire companies and importers – 12.5 percent for Cooper Kunshan
China Tire Co.; 17.69 percent for Giti Tire Fujian Co.; and 81.29 percent for Shandong Yongsheng Rubber Group Co., which primarily produces tires for Del-Nat Tire Corp.

Within a month, the Commerce Department spun around and reduced rates on Giti Tire Fujian Co., which will now pay a reduced rate of 11.74 percent. All other producers and marketers will pay a reduced rate of 12.03 percent. The new rates will be charged in addition to the existing 4 percent tariffs on consumer tires imported from China.

The countervailing duty is retroactive 90 days from Dec. 1. The DOC’s investigation into imports of tires from China was initially prompted by the United Steelworkers Union. According to the DOC, anti-dumping law provides U.S. businesses and workers with “a transparent and internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the market distorting effects caused by injurious dumping of imports into the United States, establishing an opportunity to compete on a level playing field.” USW International applauded the DOC’s decision, stating that “Chinese tire producers engage in massive unfair trade practices.”

“Today’s decision, following as it does the decision by Commerce in late November in the countervailing duty investigation, confirms the USW’s concern that imports from China not only are dumped, but also subsidized,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “American workers should not have to compete against illegally traded goods. The imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties is crucial to restoring a level playing field for our tire industry and for U.S. tire workers.”

While the USW applauded the decision, some tiremakers expressed disappointment in the decision.

“Giti is disappointed with the preliminary anti-dumping decision announced yesterday by the DOC. We are waiting for the DOC to release the full detailed calculation so we can review it and understand the numbers. Giti will continue to fully cooperate with the anti-dumping investigation,” a company spokesperson said.

Tire Review also reached out to several in the industry affected by the decision. An executive from TBC Corp. told Tire Review, “TBC has always had a global sourcing strategy and we will continue to do such. We have had and will continue to have a dynamic portfolio of North American-sourced product supplemented by sourcing from Europe and Asia.” TBC imports Sailun Tire and recently purchased Del-Nat’s assets.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. told Tire Review it will continue to assess the situation as it goes forward.

“The DOC yesterday assigned Cooper the blended rate of 27.72 percent for the preliminary anti-dumping duty. Cooper will receive an offset of 6.97 percent, bringing our company’s preliminary anti-dumping duty to 20.75 percent. Cooper will make an assessment of the preliminary anti-dumping duty’s potential impact on our business and will communicate with our customers as appropriate going forward,” according to a Cooper spokesperson.

Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce responded to the decision stating that the case has “many flaws.”

The Rubber Manufacturers Association has chosen not to comment on the duties.