Brazil increases, extends tariff on Chinese PCR imports

Brazil’s Chamber of Commerce (Camex) has reviewed and extended its anti-dumping duties on passenger car tyres manufactured in China. In late July it published a list of duties to be charged on tyres covered by Mercosul Common Nomenclature (NCM) 4011.10.00, specifically new 65 and 70 series, 13 and 14-inch rim diameter passenger car radials.

The additional duties will be charged for five years and increase duties from US$0.75 per kilogramme as set in 2009 to between US$1.08 and US$2.17 per kilogramme. The lowest duty is applied to Shandong Jinyu Industrial Co. Ltd. and most of the 35 companies named will be charged US$1.54 a kilogramme. South China Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd., along with any company not named, is required to pay duties of US$2.17 per kilogramme.

Tariffs were initially implemented after the National Association of the Tire Industry (ANIP) filed a petition on behalf of the local Bridgestone, Goodyear and Pirelli operations with Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) in January 2008, requesting an investigation into dumping of passenger car tyres from China. Duties of US$0.75 a kilogramme were announced in September 2009 and were intended to be in place for five years. However, on 28 December 2011 the ANIP filed a request for the anti-dumping duty to be reviewed as it opined the rate charged was insufficient to counter the negative impact of dumping from China. According to the ANIP, not only had Chinese imports maintained their market share in the two years since the duties were introduced, their presence had even grown through dumping – resulting in further harm to the domestic industry.