Chinese Manufacturers Prepare to Fight USW Trade Case

Chinese tyre manufacturers and exporters are said to be preparing a response to the USW trade case against their products. The China Daily reports that they are receiving assistance from China’s Ministry of Commerce and from local industry associations in their quest to combat was is viewed as a discriminative case and a trade protectionism tool.

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) has agreed to look into the case, making it the seventh and to-date largest (in terms of volume) subsidy related investigation the US has conducted against China.

In late April and early May the Chinese Rubber Industry Association (CRIA) has met with Chinese tyre manufacturers on two occasions to discuss means of dealing with the case. According to CRIA representative Tan Yukun, local manufacturers have been supplied with questionnaires to submit to the USITC by May 7. Based on the information collected from the questionnaire, the USITC will make a final decision within six months, Yukun explained.

“The case is unreasonable. They (US tyre manufacturers) are uncompetitive, but ridiculously, they try to put the blame on Chinese players,” Cai Yufeng, US business director of Hangzhou-based Zhongce Rubber, told the China Daily. Shandon Linglong’s US department general manager Jiang Guibo added: “We are disappointed about it. We will try to provide enough accurate and complete proof to show we are not subsidised…Chinese tyres are cheaper but still qualified and that is why overseas sales are still not that bad. The US behaviour is nothing but trade protectionism.”

Shandong Linglong is China’s fourth largest tyre producer and largest exporter. According to Jiang, from February, the company’s exports to the US grew mildly compared to a decline since November 2008.