Unanimous Committee Backing of Tyre Labelling Draft Ahead of Vote
On November 23 the European Parliament’s Industry Committee unanimously backed a compromise draft of the tyre labelling regulation agreed by Members of the European Parliament and Council Presidency negotiators in early October. The committee vote is the last step before the plenary vote, scheduled for November 25.
Continue ReadingSMMT Welcomes Government Support For Automotive Industry
Government has committed to create an Automotive Council to strengthen engagement with industry and set a long-term plan for its development. This follows its endorsements of the New Automotive Innovation and Growth Team's (NAIGT) recommendations on the development of the sector over the next 20 years. NAIGT, consisting of a cross-industry group of senior executives, produced the report earlier this year setting out a framework for industry development to ensure it maximises the opportunities presented by the transition to a low carbon agenda, and to promote the UK as a key player in a global industry.
Continue ReadingNew Zealand Winter Tyre Restrictions “Not Enough”, Says Campaigner
The New Zealand Government has prohibited the fitting of both winter and summer tyres to the same vehicle, yet for a man that has campaigned against the cold weather product for two years this ban does not go far enough. Don Graham’s fiancée was killed in 2007 when her car – fitted with winter tyres on the rear wheels – lost traction on a wet road, and he believes that cold weather tyres have no place in New Zealand.
Continue ReadingAlliance Tire Buys GPX Assets
Just a day after GPX International Tire Corporation (GPX) filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Israel-based Alliance Tire Group announced it has signed an agreement to purchase certain assets for a reported $38.3 million. According to Alliance, the deal includes: “GPX’s US operations, customer relationships, warehouse footprint, worldwide rights to the Galaxy and Primex brands, the company’s medium radial truck tyre distribution business and the Company’s South African entity, GPX Tyre South Africa (Pty.).” According to GPX the purpose of entering chapter 11 was “to separate the company’s operations into three distinct businesses in order to facilitate the sales of those businesses in transactions, which will allow 95 per cent of the company’s current North American workforce to remain employed.” Crucially, the statement points out that “the company will wind down its European operations.” GPX also explained that it has buyers lined to purchase various parts of the business.
Continue ReadingEuropean Tyre Labelling: The Cost is Worth it, Says Conti
Continental AG says its welcomes the tyre labelling system agreed upon by various EU bodies. While the system must pass a final vote in the European Parliament before it is given the official green light, the German tyre manufacturer looks forward to its November 2012 introduction and holds the opinion that the extra costs manufacturers face through labelling will pay off in the long term.
Continue ReadingUS Imposes 35% Tyre Tariff, China Plays Chicken
President Barack Obama’s decision to apply a 35 per cent import duty on all passenger car and light truck tyres from China for a period of three years may have been intended to “remedy market disruption caused by a surge in [Chinese] tyre imports” into the US, but it has also provoked a sharp response from the Chinese ministry of commerce and played havoc with the share prices of Far Eastern tyre manufacturers. China’s state media said the US import duties would cost 100,000 jobs and $1 billion (£600 million). Announcing the decision (on Friday 11 September 2009), the White House explained that the 35 per cent ad valorem levy would be placed in addition to the existing 4 per cent import duty on imports of Chinese-product passenger car and light truck tyres. The duty will reduce to 30 per cent ad valorem in the second year, and 25 per cent ad valorem the third year. The US International Trade Commission had recommended a 55 per cent tariff in the first year, 45 per cent in the second year and 35 per cent in the third year.
Continue ReadingFailure to Comply?
Tyrepress.com has published a new question of the month for September. After getting off to a positive starte with our launch question (which showed that a large majority of readers favour the new-look tyrepress.com) this month’s readers poll looks at how long it will take for dealers to comply with the new s-marking ruling which is set to officially take effect on 1 October. At the moment the first few responses seem pessimistic about the chances of largescale compliance before March 2010, short of a robocop kind of enforcement. However, every point of view needs to be taken into account. So, to cast your vote click 'home' to answer this month's question. Every opinion counts so don’t forget to leave a comment.
Continue ReadingCommittee Urges Obama to Support USW Petition
In a letter to President Obama, David Hartquist, executive director of the Committee to Support US Trade Laws (CSUSTL), encouraged the President to support a petition brought by the United Steelworkers union.
Continue ReadingSchrader: EU Accident Prevention Rules May Compromise Road Safety
From 2012 all new cars sold in Europe will have to be fitted with tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) as standard. However, leading TPMS-maker Schrader Electronics believes the legislation passed by the European Parliament earlier this year is flawed and could even compromise road safety. The concerns centre on the fact that the forthcoming rules make two types of TPMS technologies available to car companies - direct and indirect measuring systems. The tyre and TPMS industries favour solutions such as the direct system which places a pressure sensor in each wheel and transmits reliable pressure measurement information back to the car data centre which then informs the driver immediately about the condition of its tyres.
Continue ReadingTyre s-marking statutory instrument delayed
I had to say it, didn’t I? I should have known better than to put proverbial pen to paper and write “unless there is an unlikely 11th hour stay of execution at the European parliament.” I should have known better because no sooner had these words gone to print then exactly this happened. I am, of course, referring to the wonderful s-mark legislation (also known as regulation 2001/43), which has become the subject of so much coverage in Tyres & Accessories recently. Apparently, tyres won’t necessarily need an s-mark to comply with regulation 2001/43 and, er, be s-marked. However, it doesn’t end there. The latest from the Department for Transport is that there has been a “delay in putting into place the statutory instrument which is required for the new s-marking regulations to become law.” In short, there won’t be any means of enforcing the new law in the UK until March 2010. This fact doesn’t affect the other European markets, which will all have to comply by the original 1 October 2009 deadline.
Continue ReadingITC Report Available
The International Trade Commission has issued its massive report and recommendation concerning imported Chinese-produced passenger tyres, which has been presented to President Obama for his consideration. Click to download a <a href="http://reifenpresse.de/CDML007/en/pdf/itc150709.pdf">PDF</a> of the complete report The 208-page report includes all of the materials and testimony the ITC considered in reaching its recommendation to impose a tiered, three-year additional tariff on the tires. It also includes the minority view on the decision, which was reached in a 4-2 vote. President Obama has until 17 Sept. 17 to decide on the ITC recommendation. (Tire Review/Akron)
Continue ReadingUK Batteries Embrace REACH Legislation
UK Batteries reports having fully embraced the new ‘REACH legislation’ that came in to effect on September 1, 2008 and requires battery producers and distributors at different levels in the supply chain to meet strict labelling criteria that ensures customers are not mislead. Specifically, the REACH legislation requires all battery products to display a specification label that generally relates to the CCA (starting power) and the Ampere Hour (durability) of the unit. All batteries sold after September 1 must display the correct label, and UK Batteries, said to be the UK’s fastest-growing independent distributor, says it is proud that all of its products are now fully REACH compliant.
Continue ReadingTyre Industry Response to REACH Legislation
Due to be phased in over the next 10 years, the European Union’s chemical usage legislation REACH – dealing with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances – holds implications for many at all levels of the tyre industry. Most specifically, the legislation’s requirement of businesses to register chemicals they produce or use has obvious repercussions for raw material suppliers and manufacturers. Recognising this, the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) – which represents the EU’s 11 top tyre manufacturers, namely Bridgestone, Continental, Cooper Tires, Goodyear Dunlop, Marangoni, Michelin, Mitas, Nokian, Pirelli, Trelleborg Wheel Systems and Vredestein – discussed the progress of researchers over the past 16 months at the international Tyre Industry CEO Meeting in Tokyo on 12 June alongside representatives of the US, Korean and Japanese industries.
Continue ReadingReports: EU Legislation Will Kill Budget Tyres
New EU regulations could lead to “type approval” of tyre specifications on CO2 emissions, effectively pushing out economy options that perform lower than the premium brands in this respect. According to an Auto Express, new EU rules aimed at cutting CO2 emissions could mean that drivers are forced to spend hundreds of pounds more to get the most fuel efficient tyres, increasing the so-called OE pull-through effect and therefore premium brand sales. Auto Express states that if the proposals go ahead, drivers who have purchased new or used cars that come with CO2 reducing low-energy rubber tyres would need to replace these with the same type or face failing their MOT.
Continue ReadingGoodyear/Ledbetter Legislation Approved in US
What began as a pay dispute between Goodyear and a former employee has worked its way through the US House of Representatives. To minimise the impact of a Supreme Court ruling in favour of the tyremaker in the recent Ledbetter v. Goodyear case, which many believe will severely hamper the ability of employees to seek legal remedies to pay discrimination disputes, the House approved a piece of legislation allowing workers to file a grievance within 180 days of receiving a pay cheque that reflects a discriminatory pay decision -- even if the decision itself was made months or years before. This new legislation, known as the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007,” was accompanied by another bill that would repeal current federal limits on fiscal damages that can be awarded to employees in certain types of discrimination claims. The “Equal Remedies Act of 2007” would remove the current upper limit on claims for breaches of anti-discrimination laws. These current limits are between US$50,000 and $300,000 – the precise ceiling is determined by the size of the employer.
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