The US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration has postponed its preliminary determination on an antidumping duty investigation against Chinese passenger and light truck tyres.
The new deadline for the decision is Jan. 20, 2015 — changed from the original date of Dec. 1, 2014, according to a notice published in the Oct. 9 Federal Register.
“Because of the extraordinary complexity of this case and the number of firms we must investigate, including over 80 separate rate applications, it is not practicable to complete the preliminary determination by the current deadline,” the agency said in the notice.
The United Steelworkers (USW) union petitioned Commerce and the International Trade Commission (ITC) June 3, seeking countervailing and antidumping duties against Chinese tyre makers under Sections 701 and 731 of the Trade Act.
The union sought relief similar to but not identical with the three years of elevated tariffs against Chinese tyre makers it won in September 2009 under Section 421 of the Trade Act.
Countervailing and antidumping duties would constitute more permanent relief against Chinese tyre imports.
The ITC ruled Aug. 15 that there was a reasonable indication of material injury against the US tyre industry because of Chinese imports.
The USW petitioned the Commerce Department Sept. 12 asking for expedited action on its countervailing duty decision.
In addition, the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers and Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, supported by more than a dozen distributors of specialty trailer tyres, are seeking an exemption for specialty trailer tyres from possible import and/or antidumping duties the US government is considering for car and light truck tyres imported from China.