US initiates anti-dumping probe into tyres from China, India

The US has launched anti-dumping investigations into a certain category of tyres from China, India and Sri Lanka that might have harmed the domestic industry.
This is for the first time that anti-dumping investigations have been launched into the tyres coming to the US from India, while Chinese tyres have faced a similar investigation in the past.
In a statement, the US Department of Commerce said the investigations cover certain new pneumatic off-the-road tyres designed for off-the-road (OTR) and off-highway use such as in agricultural fields, forests, construction sites, factory and warehouse interiors, airport tarmacs, ports and harbors, mines, quarries, gravel yards and steel mills.

The investigations against China cover only off road tyres that are mounted to wheels or rims as Commerce currently has antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) orders on new pneumatic off-the-road tyres from China that have been in place since September 2008.
Countervailing is when a foreign government provides financial subsidies to a company for the manufacturing of products and ties those subsidies to export performance.
For India and Sri Lanka, the scope of these new investigations not only covers the same scope of merchandise as the ongoing orders against China, but it also covers tyres whether or not they are mounted to wheels or rims.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) is scheduled to make its preliminary injury determinations on or before February 22.

Reputed International Trade Attorney Dharmendra N Choudhary warned that more anti-dumping cases against Indian tyres may be coming soon.
"Going forward, the Indian producers and exporters of passenger vehicle and light truck tyres as well as truck and bus tyres could likely face anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation in USA, should they succeed in significantly increasing their market share," Choudhary told PTI.
"Indian OTR tyre exporters would need to stay within 10 per cent combined anti-dumping and countervailing duty rate based on the fact that in the last concluded AD proceeding on Chinese OTR tyres, the AD duty rate on top Chinese exporters was only 11.34 per cent and the CVD rates on leading Chinese OTR tyre exporters were generally in low single digits," Choudhary said.

In its statement, the US Department of Commerce said if ITC determines that there is a reasonable indication that imports of certain new pneumatic off-the-road tyres from China, India, and/or Sri Lanka materially injure, or threaten material injury to the domestic off road tyre industry, the investigations will continue, and Commerce will be scheduled to make its preliminary CVD determinations in April and its preliminary AD determinations in June 2016.