Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
  • Tire Business
web
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • Silicone
    • Latex
    • Coronavirus
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Opinion
    • Technical Notebooks
    • Women in Tire & Rubber
    • ITEC
    • International Elastomer Show
    • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Continental invests in AI company
      Michelin launching ‘eco-responsible' performance tire for sporty EVs
      GM promotes Siemen to lead sustainability; Parker to retire
      Video: Michelin driving for ‘100% sustainable' tires by 2050
    • Michelin launching ‘eco-responsible' performance tire for sporty EVs
      Video: Michelin driving for ‘100% sustainable' tires by 2050
      USTMA: U.S. tire shipments to rebound in 2021
      TIA among associations against increase to minimum wage
    • Continental invests in AI company
      To boost U.S. microchip production, Biden administration must find supply chains weaknesses
      USTMA, NAM among associations backing passage of Equality Act
      ASC seeks presenters for fall convention
    • Sibur set to launch production at new halobutyl rubber facility
      Braskem to invest $61M to expand green ethylene production capacity
      Zeon receives pair of ISO certifications
      Trinseo taps K.D. Feddersen to supply soft-touch elastomers
    • Stockwell Elastomerics' legacy moves on
      Larger mixers tout economies of scale, along with the need for speed
      Hexpol, Bloom deal with COVID, reorganization, fire since start of 2020
      Small, mid-size compounders keep value, agility, service 'in the mix'
    • Ohio firm focuses on making better masks in U.S.
      U.S. to increase NBR, make gloves using Defense Production Act
      Tire Cologne canceled; rescheduled for 2022
      Tire Technology Expo canceled for 2021
    • Harwick Standard adds Flores to West Coast sales team
      GM promotes Siemen to lead sustainability; Parker to retire
      9 Goodyear-Cooper Tire stories you may have missed
      Goodyear promotes Chris Helsel, expanding his global technology, operational role
    • To boost U.S. microchip production, Biden administration must find supply chains weaknesses
      TIA among associations against increase to minimum wage
      9 Goodyear-Cooper Tire stories you may have missed
      Cooper recalling 430,000+ whitewall LT tires in multiple brands
    • Column: Discussions of race, equality may mean uncomfortable moments
      Column: Business trips possible because of essential workers
      Editorial: Associations see opportunity for progress under new administration
      Editorial: Against a backdrop of turmoil, M&A deals give glimpse of normalcy
    • Studying RPA ASTM methods for detecting compound quality differences
      Damage mechanism in oil and gas formulations during downhole testing
      Advancements in synchronous drive belt design for industrial and consumer markets
      Effects of multiple repurposed materials for reinforcements of standard rubber compounds
    • Rubber Division introduces WORD webinar series
      WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      New video celebrates women in rubber industry
      ITEC panelists say women can thrive in tire industry
    • Goodyear recognized by Lockheed Martin as 'elite supplier'
      EV tire advancements to help secure future
      Lambillotte: Only question on AVs is timing
      CAR official says EV future brighter than autonomous
    • Rubber Division introduces WORD webinar series
      Rubber Division seeks abstracts for 200th Technical Meeting
      WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      IEC keynote: Communication key to logistics
    • Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Faster Access to Your Polymer Compounding Experts Around the World
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Take a walk thru a HEXPOL Lab
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      HEXPOL offers a unique selection of High Performance Elastomers to match your application requirements
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      It’s what you can’t see that makes the Difference at HEXPOL
  • Blogs
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
    • New Products: Starrett expands field-of-view for multi-sensor vision system
      New Products: Nova thinks outside the box with sealing tech
      New Products: MonTech introduces 1,500 kN lab press
      New products: 3M introduces new durable, pliable medical adhesive
    • Wacky World of Rubber: How Trelleborg, teens sealed a spot in the world record book
      Wacky World of Rubber: Of chicken and feet, but not chicken feet
      Wacky World of Rubber: Time to go mattress shopping
      Wacky World of Rubber: Because nothing says football like 'frunk' shrimp
  • Newsletters
    • Rubber in Automotive
    • Silicone News
    • Latex News
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Continental invests in AI company
      Michelin launching ‘eco-responsible' performance tire for sporty EVs
      GM promotes Siemen to lead sustainability; Parker to retire
      Video: Michelin driving for ‘100% sustainable' tires by 2050
    • Stockwell Elastomerics' legacy moves on
      Larger mixers tout economies of scale, along with the need for speed
      Hexpol, Bloom deal with COVID, reorganization, fire since start of 2020
      Small, mid-size compounders keep value, agility, service 'in the mix'
    • Sri Trang Gloves starts major capacity expansion
      Synthomer dismisses takeover reports
      Combined Goodyear-Cooper Tire company has tire technology, sustainability edge
      Helixtap launches new digital marketplace for rubber
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Directory
  • Resources
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • HB Chemical
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The HB Chemical and Ravago Partnership: Taking Customer Service to a New Level
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      Above and Beyond with HB Chemical
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The Company Behind the Inventory
      Sponsored By French Oil Mill Machinery
      Process Improvement, Cost Reduction with Custom Press Systems
    • Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Labs of the Future: How to Choose a Laboratory Information Management System in 2021
      Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Cooper Standard deploys lab informatics platform to synchronize R&D
      Sponsored By Elkem
      LSR Select™: A solution to improve your financial impact in molding applications
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Peroxide Cureable Silicone Injection Molding
  • Data
  • Events
    • RPN Events
    • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • ITEC Library
    • International Silicone Conference Library
    • 2021 Healthcare Elastomers Virtual Edition
      2021 Rubber in Automotive Virtual Edition
      2021 International Latex Conference Virtual Edition
      2022 ITEC
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Tire
May 26, 2020 11:51 AM

Importers say new tire tariffs will harm consumers

Bruce Davis
Tire Business
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    Most companies potentially affected by the United Steelworkers' petitions for import duties on passenger and light truck tires from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam are, for now, reserving comment on the issue. Those who did comment, however, focused on a couple of issues: higher prices for consumers and their own long-term heritage of service to U.S. consumers.

    Tariffs on tires imported from the targeted countries would be "bad for the consumer and for our overall economy," said Greg Hathcock, president of Vogue Tyre & Rubber Co.

    Hathcock noted the similarities to the union's action in 2009—when the U.S. under the Obama administration elevated import duties on Chinese passenger and light truck tires for three years. "It will result in higher tire prices without generating new jobs," he said.

    The 2009-11 action is estimated to have cost consumers more than $1.1 billion in price increases and other costs while saving approximately 1,200 jobs at U.S. tire factories (at a cost of $926,000 per job), according to Hathcock. At the same time, he said, the moves eliminated approximately 2,500 retail jobs across all industries due to reduced consumer buying power.

    Vogue Tyre sources tires from both China and Vietnam after trying unsuccessfully several years ago to secure sourcing in the U.S.

    Maxxis International said that as a company that has always prioritized the needs of consumers, it is "dismayed" by the USW's petition.

    "If the requested duties are imposed, supply chains for Maxxis and all other tire companies operating in the U.S. will be strained, leading to negative effects for consumers at an already challenging time," the Suwanee, Ga.-based subsidiary of Taiwan's Cheng Shin Rubber/Maxxis International said.

    Maxxis said it "will be glad to cooperate with this investigation, and will provide documentation of the fact that we have never engaged in the activities described in the petition. … Our trade practices have been fair and ethical throughout our U.S. operation, and we have scrupulously followed the law at all times."

    Maxxis has been importing tires into the U.S. for more than 35 years. Its presence here includes four distribution centers, a technical center and a tire/wheel assembly plant.

    Hankook Tire America Corp. said it's still early at this stage in the process, before anything concrete has been decided, according to Peter Jung, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Hankook Tire America.

    Hankook likely will work with the Korea Tire Manufacturers Association (KOTMA) in preparing for the upcoming hearings, Jung said, because the USW's action concerns all South Korean tire companies.

    If the U.S. were to impose duties, Jung said Hankook would be able to reorganize its global production portfolio and increase U.S. plant production to meet U.S. stakeholder demands.

    As for KOTMA itself, the Seoul, South Korea-based trade group said its member companies have started to establish countermeasures, such as selecting consulting companies for accounting and legal advice.

    KOTMA also is trying to seek ways of assisting the member companies through having related meetings with them and sharing related information with the government.

    Joe Kao, operations manager at Federal Tire North America, said he isn't concerned about the potential duties yet.

    "We don't believe there is a high risk for us as our export numbers didn't surge, and our average pricing has been going up," Kao said. "Besides, there's no government subsidy, so countervailing should not be applicable. We are confident and hopeful and will be going through the standard filing process."

    Richard Kuskin, president of tire importer/wholesale distributor Foreign Tire Sales Inc., said there are only two areas in the world with sufficient manufacturing capacity to meet the demand for tires in the U.S.—China and Southeast Asia.

    Kuskin—whose company represents Thai tire maker Otani Tire Co. Ltd.—said, depending on the scale of import duties imposed (50 percent or higher, for example), the action could open the door for some Chinese companies to reconsider supplying the U.S.

    This new action by the USW is "escalating the cat-and-mouse game" between the world's major tire producers and the more cost-effective—but "quality varied" Chinese brands—to a whole new level, according to Mike Cheng, head of TBB Tires, the U.S. subsidiary of China's Jiangsu General Science Technology Co. Ltd., which recently opened a plant in Thailand.

    Cheng acknowledged that tire supply also is considered a strategic issue that can't be left solely in the hands of foreign entities, as the recent crisis on personal protection equipment demonstrated.

    "The question is, 'What's next?' We have literately run out of countries that are either stable enough to invest in and to operate a tire factory efficiently," Cheng said.

    TBB Tires' answer consists of three things, he said: quality, service and price.

    A tariff, he said, regardless of how much it is elevated, ultimately will end up as one thing: cost.

    "Every customer wants the lowest price but the highest in everything else. Most companies see price as the only factor of business because it's what everyone complains (about) the most."

    Roy Littlefield, CEO of the Tire Industry Association, said the petition filed by the USW is an indication of the tire industry's growth and evolution. This is evident, he said, by the investments tire makers have made in China and Southeast Asia.

    "The union, in seeking antidumping and countervailing duties, is looking to preserve tire manufacturing jobs in the U.S., while tire retailers have found success selling products imported from these countries," Littlefield said. "It's not surprising, therefore, to see this action taken by the USW."

    Companies and groups declining comment when contacted by Tire Business were: American Omni Trading Co.; Kenda Tire USA Inc.; Kumho Tire USA Inc.; Tire Brands America; Nexen Tire Corp.; and the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association.

    In addition, at least four companies have notified the ITC of their intention to participate in the investigation process: Atturo Tire Corp.; Bridgestone Americas Inc.; ITG-Voma Corp.; and Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber & Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber & Plastics News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    web
    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Contact the Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • Silicone
      • Latex
      • Coronavirus
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • Opinion
      • Technical Notebooks
      • Women in Tire & Rubber
      • ITEC
      • International Elastomer Show
      • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • Newsletters
      • Rubber in Automotive
      • Silicone News
      • Latex News
      • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Photo Galleries
    • Directory
    • Resources
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Data
    • Events
      • RPN Events
      • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • ITEC Library
      • International Silicone Conference Library
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION