US Authority Rules Against Mislabelled Import

In the US the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has ruled that a mislabelled Chinese lorry tyre presents a safety issue and therefore cannot be sold for use in the United States.

In September 2006 the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) appealed to the NHTSA to deny a petition for inconsequential non-compliance that was requested by Foreign Tire Sales, an importer of tyres from China. The petition related to some 19,000 lorry tyres imported into the US in 2005 and 2006. The tyres did not comply with labelling regulations, which require a tyre’s sidewall to display the maximum load rating and inflation values for single tyre use.

The RMA urged the NHTSA to rule against the petition, stating that while the intended use of the tyres may not in itself present a safety concern, there was nothing to prevent them being placed in a single load application since they are capable of being mounted and used in this format. The NHTSA agreed with the concerns raised by the RMA, and found the counter evidence provided by Foreign Tire Sales to be insufficient, and in a written statement said “the issue here is not whether the tyres meet those performance requirements. Rather, the question is whether the incorrect marking of the tyres may itself have safety consequences,”

Foreign Tire Sales deny that any safety issue exists, arguing that the tyres in question are clearly marked “dual use only.”