U.S. finds truck, bus tire imports from China subsidized

The United States Department of Commerce estimated that imports of truck and bus tires from China in 2015 were valued at about $1.07 billion.    An investigation by the United States Department of Commerce has found that U.S. imports of tires for trucks and buses from China are subsidized by the Chinese government.
   A countervailable subsidy is financial assistance from foreign governments that benefits the manufacturing of foreign companies and is limited to specific enterprises or industries, or is contingent on either export performance or use of domestic goods over imported goods.
   Commerce calculated a preliminary subsidy rate of 17.06 percent for Double Coin Holdings Ltd. and a preliminary subsidy rate of 23.38 percent for Guizhou Tyre Co. Ltd. All other producers/exporters in China have been assigned a preliminary subsidy rate of 20.22 percent.
   As a result of this preliminary affirmative determination, Commerce will instruct Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to require cash deposits based on these preliminary rates.
   Commerce said it “preliminary found that critical circumstances exist with respect to one exporter of truck and bus tires from China, [and since] critical circumstances were found, CBP will be instructed to impose provisional measures retroactively on entries of truck and bus tires effective 90 days prior to publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal Register.”
   Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determination for this investigation by Nov. 10.
   If Commerce makes an affirmative final determination, and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) also makes an affirmative final determination that imports of truck and bus tires from China harm the domestic tire manufacturing industry, Commerce will issue a countervailing duty order. However, if either Commerce’s or the ITC’s final determination is negative, no countervailing duty order will be issued.
   The petitioner for this investigation is the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union of Pennsylvania.
   Commerce estimated that imports of truck and bus tires from China in 2015 were valued at about $1.07 billion.