US investigating dumping of Chinese truck and bus tyres

The United States International Trade Commission has launched an investigation into dumping allegations related to Chinese-produced truck and bus tyres sold in the US market. The ITC released information on its action on 29 January; the decision to commence preliminary anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations follows the lodging of a petition by the United Steelworkers union. The ITC is required to reach a preliminary determination by 14 March 2016 and inform the United States Department of Commerce of its views by 21 March 2016.

US trade publication Tire Review notes that, according to data released by the US government, imports of truck tyres from China into the US almost doubled in the three years to 2014; some 4.86 million of these tyres entered the country in 2011, a quantity representing 22.71 per cent of the combined original equipment and replacement markets. This figure rose 72.4 per cent to 8.38 million tyres by 2014, with Chinese imports representing 36.25 per cent of the US replacement truck tyre market.

The USW petition, received by the trade body on 29 January, comes less than a month after the union jointly filed a petition with Titan International regarding the alleged dumping of off-road tyres from China and other countries. The ITC is expected to reach preliminary determinations in this instance by 22 February and make these decisions public by 29 February.