US Court Orders Review of China OTR, Ag Tyre Duties

Several media sources are now reporting that last year’s ruling by the US Department of Commerce that slapped often huge antidumping duties on certain OTR and farm tyres imported from China will get another look. On September 18, the US Court of International Trade ordered the Commerce Department to review its ruling and the countervailing duties it applied to a host of tires imported from China. The court said the Commerce Department’s duty calculations were in error, and in cases were effectively double what they should have been. The court gave the Commerce Department 90 days to clear up the duty discrepancies. Tyres & Accessories/tyrepress.com first reported this story on 25 September, but following the collapse of GPX International last week US-based Tire Review draws a parallel between the two stories.

According to Tire Review, the ruling came from a December 2008 lawsuit by now bankrupt GPX International Tire against Titan International, the USW and Bridgestone Americas, the three groups who pressed the Commerce Department for the duties. GPX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, and has begun selling off portions of its business.

What the court’s finding and possible change in the Commerce Department’s duty schedule will mean to other importers is unclear. Acting on a 2007 petition by Titan, the union and Bridgestone, the Commerce Department determined in February 2008 that Chinese OTR and farm tire makers and exporters would have to pay duties of up to 210 per cent above the wholesale value of the tyres.

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