ITC halts investigation on China OTR tire imports

The International Trade Commission has recently stopped its investigation on China-made off-the-road tires after a 6-0 vote to not probe anymore into the imports' countervailing and anti-dumping issues.

This follows Titan Tire Corp. and the United Steelworkers union's filing of a petition for antidumping and countervailing duties for OTR tires from China, Sri Lanka and India. The two have argued that the said countries' market share jumped to 44 percent from 35.5 percent in the last three years, with India pulling down Titan's sales by about 70 percent.

OTR tire importers from the three countries countered the petition by citing economic downturn in the original equipment OTR industry and lower raw material prices as the causes of the drop in US OTR tire prices.

The ITC, however, will continue dealing with the similar case against Sri Lanka and India OTR tire imports, stating in its press release that there is a "reasonable indication" that the US market is affected negatively by the some India pneumatic off-the-road tires claimed to be marketed in the US "at less than fair value and subsidized by the governments of India and Sri Lanka." The ITC will be filing further assessment by March 2, as scheduled.

See a comparison table of off-road tire suppliers on GlobalSources.com