In the EU, anti-dumping duties have been imposed on passenger car tires from China
On July 7, the European Commission announced the introduction of anti-dumping duties ranging from 4.3 to 45.3% on imports of passenger and light truck tires from China, stating that dumping by suppliers had caused "significant harm" to the EU's tire industry. The duties will apply to new pneumatic tires for passenger cars, buses, and trucks with a load index of 121 or less.
The minimum duty rate is set for Hankook (4.3%), and the maximum rate is for Shandong Yongsheng Rubber Group (45.3%). For suppliers who cooperated with the EC during the anti-dumping investigation, the tariff will be 24.4%, and for all others, the duty will be 45.3%. Kumho and Nexen will pay additional duties of 24.4%, which is lower than the preliminary value of 29.9%. The maximum duty for suppliers has also been reduced from 52%. The decision came into effect on July 8.
In a statement, the EC said that between 2021 and 2024, the share of Chinese tire imports in the EU market grew from 18% to 28%, while the share of local producers decreased from 60% to 53%. At the same time, it was found that suppliers were underpricing compared to the fair level in the European market - by 19% on average and in some cases by 34.7% in the budget segment.
Regarding the damage caused, the Commission reports that indicators such as production volumes, capacity utilization, market share, employment, profitability, and performance "showed a clear decline". The EC acknowledged that there were certain positive trends in terms of cash flow and investment profitability, but stated that they cannot compensate for the significant deterioration in market conditions.
The Commission's report also notes that the increase in costs was not offset by an increase in selling prices for tires in all categories, which led to a decrease in the profitability of manufacturers, and operations in the budget segment became unprofitable due to the growth of dumping imports from China.
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