The preliminary phase of the investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce to determine whether tariffs should be levied against truck and bus tires from Thailand has been extended slightly.
The United Steelworkers requested and were granted an extension in the case. Lawyers for the union petitioners asked for the extension due to the "complexity of the issues presented in this investigation."
Requests for extensions and them being granted are common in these causes.
As a result of this request, the Department of Commerce is pushing out the deadline by another 50 days. The new preliminary ruling is due by May 14.
Once the preliminary ruling is issued, the case moves on to a "final" phase. Unless an additional extension is granted — and that's possible, too — the final determination would come 75 days later the preliminary ruling is issued.
The issue of whether tariffs are imposed on truck tires from Thailand is an important one, as Thailand remains the top source of imported TBR tires to the U.S. market. In 2023, MTD estimates 6.6 million TBR tires were shipped to the U.S. from Thailand — three times as many as the number of tires (2.2 million) that arrived from Japan, the second-largest source of TBR imports in 2023.
