By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) issued a preliminary ruling that Vietnamese tire producers were receiving unfair subsidies associated with the country’s “undervalued currency.” The DOC calculated countervailing duty rates ranging from 6.23% to 10.08%. The DOC will now instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of tires from Vietnam based on the preliminary rates. Imports of passenger tires from Vietnam were valued at about $470 million in 2019.
The countervailing duty decision is part of a broader investigation alleging that passenger and light truck tires from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value (“dumping”). The DOC is expected to issue its preliminary anti-dumping decisions by December 29, with final decisions to be issued in mid-March 2021. The alleged dumping margins are as high as 195% for Korea, 147% for Taiwan, 217% for Thailand, and 33% for Vietnam.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has already made an initial determination that U.S. industry is likely being harmed by the alleged dumping and subsidies. For duties to take effect, the ITC must confirm that there is harm or threatened harm to U.S. industry once the DOC has issued its final dumping and subsidy calculations.
For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.