US launches antidumping probe on OTR tyre imports

Tracy Dang

04-Feb-2016

HOUSTON (ICIS)–The US Department of Commerce on Thursday announced the initiation of antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) investigations on imports of certain pneumatic off-the-road (OTR) tyres from China and India, as well as a CVD investigation on those from Sri Lanka.

The investigation will cover certain tyres designed for off-the-road and off-highway use, such as in agricultural fields, construction sites, factories and other industries, the department said.

The investigations are a result of a petition filed last month by US labour union United Steelworkers and tyre maker Titan International.

According to a document from the commerce department, there are allegations that China is selling OTR tyres in the US at dumping margins of 11.20-77.69%, while dumping margins on OTR tyres from India are 10.77-76.45%.

Those two countries and Sri Lanka are also allegedly receiving financial assistance through government subsidies to benefit the production of goods from their regions.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) will make a preliminary determination by 22 February on whether these imports of OTR tyres are causing material injury – or threaten to cause material injury – to the domestic OTR tyre industry.

According to the commerce department document, 2014 imports of certain OTR tyres from China, India and Sri Lanka were valued at an estimated $6.2m, $167.3m and $16.8m, respectively.

The tyre industry is a major consumer of butadiene (BD) derivatives, especially synthetic rubber chemicals such as styrene-butadiene-rubber (SBR), polybutadiene rubber (PBR or BR).

SBR market participants said that potential duties would help the domestic tyre industry, given that the OTR tyre market is one segment that is negatively impacted in the US because of poor demand.

Still, there is sentiment that this could hurt certain tyre makers in China and India, but the overall impact on the tyre industry would be insignificant.

Follow Tracy on Twitter

The automotive industry is major global consumer of petrochemicals which contribute more than a third of the raw material costs of an average vehicle. ICIS tracks the movement of petrochemical raw material costs in auto production both globally and regionally with the weighted ICIS Basket of Automotive Petrochemicals (IBAP).

ICIS has launched a Global Automotive report covering the major automotive chemicals markets, and auto-industry and macroeconomic trends. For more information on the report and details on how to subscribe, please email automotive@icis.com

ICIS has published a global automotive petrochemical outlook which examines the major trends expected in 2016 for regional petrochemical markets and macroeconomics, global crude oil and gasoline trends, and takes a closer look at the PP, isocyanates and PVC markets in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. To access your free copy, please click here


 

READ MORE

Global News + ICIS Chemical Business (ICB)

See the full picture, with unlimited access to ICIS chemicals news across all markets and regions, plus ICB, the industry-leading magazine for the chemicals industry.

Contact us

Now, more than ever, dynamic insights are key to navigating complex, volatile commodity markets. Access to expert insights on the latest industry developments and tracking market changes are vital in making sustainable business decisions.

Want to learn about how we can work together to bring you actionable insight and support your business decisions?

Need Help?

Need Help?