A third of imported tires may be banned

When it was announced that a new eco-fee on tires would be introduced in the Russian market, which officially should protect the population from products with increased carcinogenic hazard, but, according to experts, is intended to protect domestic manufacturers from the influx of increasingly popular Chinese imports, which have already occupied a third of the passenger car segment, a logical question arose. If tire products pose a risk to human health — and tires from one of the Chinese brands did not meet the new GOST for the content of hazardous oils by 7.7 times — then how can they be sold at all.

Not so long ago, the head of Rosprirodnadzor, Svetlana Radionova, stated that the processing of carcinogenic tires should be banned, since "if we do not allow them to drive on our roads and wear out, and fly into people's lungs as dust, it would be very strange to make children's playgrounds and other products out of them."

At the same time, there was no direct ban on sales, and on April 9, "Izvestia" reported that the Ministry of Industry and Trade had sent a proposal to the relevant agencies to ban the use of tires with a high content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The publication refers to a letter from the Deputy Head of the Ministry, Mikhail Yurin, to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Rostandart.

"The Ministry of Industry and Trade has initiated amendments to the technical regulations of the Customs Union 'On the safety of wheeled vehicles' to establish a limit on the content of certain PAHs in tires at the level of 0.25% of the bay protons. The capacities of Russian enterprises are fully capable of meeting the domestic demand for automotive tires and have significant export potential," the department clarified.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade says that the new standards will allow for the removal from the market of tires that do not meet environmental and technical standards of the EAEU, which "will create additional competitive advantages for manufacturers in Russia and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as the largest global tire brands that initially adhere to high standards of safety and environmental friendliness."

"The initiative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade is an absolutely justified step aimed at protecting the health of citizens and the environment. PAHs are proven carcinogens of the 1st group, they are released in the form of toxic dust during tire wear, settle along roads, get into water and air. In fact, we are talking about bringing Russian requirements to world standards," Roskachestvo said.

Although even manufacturers such as Ikon Tyres actually admit the creation of a barrier against tires from the PRC and say that "in order to protect the market from the pressure of Chinese imports, the authorities are considering issues related to the carcinogenic safety of tires," Roskachestvo insists that "PAHs in tires are not directly related to the country of origin, it depends on the technologies and components used, primarily oils and fillers."

"The problem of PAHs in the Russian market is concentrated precisely in the budget segment, which already occupies about a third of the market and may leave the market after the introduction of restrictions. This is a systemic problem of manufacturers who save on oil purification, using cheap high-aromatic components," said Dmitry Tortev, a member of the expert council of the State Duma committee for the protection of competition.

Tortev recognizes that the measures taken may lead to the fact that drivers will start driving on worn-out tires or buying used "rubber", so it is important "for Russian manufacturers to actually fill the leaving volumes".

GOST R 51893-2024, which establishes requirements for the content of PAHs in rubber mixtures of tires, was established quite recently, and a source from "Izvestia" in the state authorities says that "the authorities have been doing systematic work for a long time to limit the domestic market of potentially hazardous products".

Rosstandart notes that "the flow of imported automotive tires produced using carcinogenic components, carrying high risks to the safety of life and health of the population, has increased in the Russian Federation. In connection with the above, as well as to support domestic manufacturers, it is necessary to introduce state regulation of the turnover of tires containing carcinogenic oils".

The new eco-fee came into force on January 1, 2026, and its amount in relation to carcinogenic tires is 18 times the amount compared to safe tires in this regard. This means that for a ton of "safe" tires, the tariff is 11,580 rubles, and for "hazardous" ones — 200,430 rubles. The data is provided by the Russian Environmental Operator (REO), emphasizing that "all collected funds will go to the creation of processing capacities".

Earlier it was reported that among Russian tires, only 11% of tires do not meet the new requirements, and among imported ones, this figure reaches 40%, and expert of UK "Finam Management" Dmitry Baranov notes that "the idea of limiting the use of PAHs in automotive tires is logical from the point of view of health and environmental protection, however, it requires careful phased implementation, rather than immediate prohibition of their use".