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EU imposes anti-dumping measures on Chinese tyre firms

The bloc says that pricing by the companies had created ‘economically non-viable’ conditions for its local firms

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Employees at a rubber tyre manufacturing facility in Dongying in China’s eastern Shandong province on June 20. Photo: VCG via Getty Images
Xiaofei Xuin Paris

The EU will impose definitive anti-dumping duties of up to 45.3 per cent on Chinese car and light lorry tyres from Wednesday, citing significant dumping margins and “material injury” to the bloc’s tyre industry.

“Most injury indicators such as ... sales quantity, market share, employment, profitability and productivity showed a clear negative trend during the period considered,” the European Commission wrote on Tuesday.

Imports of Chinese tyres to the European Union are overwhelmingly concentrated in a budget “tier 3” segment – the cheapest tyres, which had become “economically non-viable” for European competitors as their import volume rose, the Commission said.

Over 90 per cent of Chinese tyre imports into the European Union fall into this budget segment, according to the Coalition Against Unfair Tyre Imports. Much of the remaining share consists of higher-end tier 1 and 2 South Korean tyres from Hankook Group, produced in Chinese factories, the coalition said.

Shandong Yongsheng Rubber Group , a budget producer, was hit with the highest duty of 45.3 per cent, while 64 other producers received 24.4 per cent. These included global brands’ Chinese plants for Italy’s Pirelli, America’s Goodyear, Germany’s Continental and Japan’s Sumitomo. Hankook received just 4.3 per cent.

The Commission said that China’s domestic prices were too distorted to serve as a benchmark and cited, among other things, the state’s influence on firms under the country’s “socialist market economy”, which it said allowed Beijing to interfere with prices and costs. Brussels noted that Beijing did not reply to questions it was sent on state-induced distortions.
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