The United Steelworkers (USW) union commends the International Trade Commission’s (ITC) final affirmative determination on dumped and subsidised passenger vehicle and light truck (PVLT) tyres from Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The USW is the largest North American union in tyre manufacturing, representing workers at the following US PVLT tyre plants including Cooper Tyre’s plants in Findlay, Ohio, and Texarkana, Arkansas; Goodyear’s plants in Fayetteville, N.C., and Topeka, Kansas; Michelin’s plants in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Sumitomo’s plant in Tonawanda, New York; Yokohama’s plant in Salem, Virginia; and Kumho Tyre’s plant in Macon, Georgia.
The USW filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions against the four countries on May 13, 2020. USW International President Tom Conway said that the ruling will stem what was deemed as “a deliberate effort to undercut our domestic industry and overtake our market, “ he said.
Kevin Johnsen, who chairs the USW’s Rubber/Plastics Industry Conference, said the ITC decision was an important step toward levelling the playing field for domestic tyre makers, adding that a long-term, sustainable solutions for bad trade is needed to prevent job loss of American workers and protect against reduced market share for the US tyre sector.