The U.S. Commerce Department will issue its preliminary antidumping determination on passenger and light truck tires imported from China on Jan. 21 as scheduled, Commerce said in an advisory Jan. 20.

The investigation is limited to new pneumatic rubber tires with a passenger or light truck designation, Commerce said. The agency, through its International Trade Administration entity, will issue a fact sheet Jan. 21 outlining its decision, it said.

Antidumping duties would be imposed in addition to countervailing duties Commerce put into place Dec. 1, 2014. Originally set at 15.29 percent for most Chinese tire makers on Nov. 24, the duties later were lowered 12.03 percent. These duties were retroactive 90 days from Dec. 1.

Commerce’s investigation into Chinese tires and its subsequent findings of material injurty against U.S. industry was prompted by a United Steelworkers union petition with the International Trade Commission in June 2014.

In that petition, the USW requested countervailing and antidumping duties against Chinese passenger and light truck tires under Sections 701 and 731 of the Trade Act.

Countervailable subsidies are defined by Commerce as: "financial assistance from foreign governments that benefit the production of goods from foreign companies and are limited to specific enterprises or industries, or are contingent either upon export performance or upon the use of domestic goods over imported goods."

Dumping, according to Commerce, "occurs when imported merchandise is sold in, or for export to, the United States at less than the normal value of merchandise. The dumping margin is the amount by which the normal value exceeds the export price or constructed export price of the subject merchandise. The weighted-average dumping margin is the sum of the dumping margins divided by the sum of the export prices and constructed export prices."

Commerce has exempted ST-type trailer tires from countervailing duties.

Imports of Chinese passenger and light truck tires to the U.S. were valued at $2.1 billion in 2013, according to Commerce Department data. In units, passenger tire imports from China were 46 million units, while light truck units were 5.28 million.

Through November, passenger unit shipments from China were up 14.3 percent over the first 11 months of 2013 and light truck tire shipments were up 25.6 percent.

Source: tirebusiness.com