Chinese tyre industry wary as US unions allege massive dumping

BEIJING – China’s type industry is closely monitoring a petition by the United Steelworkers Union, representing 850,000 workers in North America, calling for the US Department of Commerce to apply anti-dumping and countervailing duties against passenger and light truck tyres from China. The union alleges massive dumping and substantial subsidisation of sales of these products by China into the US market.

The union has previously successfully sought restrictions on tyre imports, with US President Barack Obama backing the union in 2009 by levying a new duty of 35% on tyre imports. The US Commerce Department has 20 days to decide whether to open investigations.

China's exports of tyres to the US market more than doubled to 50.8 million units last year, worth more than US$2 billion. In the first quarter of 2014 alone, tyre imports from China surged another 24.6%. The Obama administration has been increasingly aggressive in fighting trade battles against Beijing, and recently imposed fresh tariffs on Chinese solar power products.