The Department of Commerce (DOC) has found evidence that tiremakers and tire exporters in Vietnam benefited from government subsidies in 2019, and as a result consumer tires imported into the U.S. from Vietnam should be assessed countervailing duties.
When the International Trade Administration at the DOC conducts these investigations, it collects data about and from the whole industry, but it also selects specific companies to study. The findings from those companies then contribute to a tariff rate assessed on all parties in the country.
In this Vietnam subsidy investigation, the DOC looked at two individual tiremakers, and ultimately said both were benefiting from subsidies from “authorities.” Here are the rates of those subsidies:
Kumho Tire (Vietnam) Co. Ltd. 10.08%
Sailun (Vietnam) Co. Ltd. 6.23%
All others 6.77%
The DOC notes Kumho and Sailun are the largest producers/exporters with the largest volume of PLT tires from Vietnam during the period of investigation, which covered all of 2019.
In addition to this countervailing investigation, the DOC is also studying whether passenger tires and light truck tires from Vietnam are being dumped in the U.S. market. (The dumping investigation also covers Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea. Those other regions weren’t included in the countervailing subsidies case.)
Both investigations will publish their final determinations no later than March 15, 2021.
