Tariff Issue Still on TIA Front-Burner

In the USA, the TIA says it is still working to either reduce or eliminate the added tariff placed on China-made consumer tyres by the Obama Administration last September, reports Tire Review. The three-year tariff adds 35 per cent to the price of consumer tyres exported to the US from China, dropping to 30 per cent in its second year and 25 per cent in the third.

The TIA has opposed the tariff from the start. “TIA has been working continuously on this issue. We are typically interacting with the upper-level staff at the US International Trade Commission and the Customs and Border Protection Agency, and, seeking input from, or responding to, members calling in with questions,” TIA claimed on its website. One factor that weighs in the favor of dealers is that the 421 Safeguard complaint “was not filed by the manufacturers suffering from a ‘market disruption,’ it was a disaffected union.

“The reason we have the opportunity to try and influence the USTR and the president can be found under the 421 Safeguard Provision, which the USW used to file their petition. It states that the president has the option of reviewing the remedy in six months,” TIA said. “In the meantime, we are back in the halls on Capitol Hill for the following reasons: The Trade Act of 1979, wherein the 421 Safeguard provision originate, directs the USITC to begin collecting data upon the granting of relief in order to be able to respond rapidly to a presidential review request. Under the statute, the International Trade Commission has only 60 days to prepare a report for the president. In the opinion of our coalition, waiting six months to begin compiling the necessary data will lead to an insufficient record.

“To ensure that the commission will have a sound, factual basis for its report, we must persuade Congress to strongly urge the administration to institute a system now to monitor changes in areas such as: US production of consumer tyres (including production of private brands and other entry-level tires), changes in employment at US tyre production facilities, changes in consumer tyre imports from countries other than China, retail price trends for domestic and imported tyres (including specific price trends in low-income areas of the US), and changes in employment levels in the tyre distribution and retail sectors.”