On 29 January, the United Steelworkers (USW) union filed a formal petition with the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) seeking imposition of import duties on medium- and heavy-duty truck tires from China, according to Tire Review. “Once again we are taking action to stop the unfair trade practices of China from damaging our members’ good jobs and the US manufacturing base. In a period of strong demand, American industry has seen all the growth in demand go offshore, with China being the biggest problem,” said Leo W. Gerard, president, USW International.
The union has filed the petition to conduct an investigation under sections 701 and 731 of the Tariff Act of 1930 regarding the imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of truck and bus Tires from China.
Significance: According to USW, imports from China have increased 33% between 2012 and 2014. Imports have growth from 6.3 million truck and bus tires in 2012 to 8.4 million tires in 2014. In the first 11 months ended 30 November 2015, imports saw a further increase of 7%. On the other hand, American truck and bus tire producer shipments declined 7.8%, despite demand for those tires expanding during the 2012-2015 period.
The anti-dumping petition alleges significant dumping margins of 19.7%, with certain customs districts having alleged margins as high as 58%. The countervailing duty petition alleges that 39 programmes provide subsidies.
The union sought and won import duties in 2014 on passenger and light truck tires from China.
The USW represents approximately 850,000 workers in North America employed in various industries, including metals, rubber, chemicals, paper and oil refining, as well as the service and public sectors.
