Bridgestone, Denman join Titan and Steelworkers in anti-dumping case

Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. and Denman Tire Corp. joined Titan Tire Corp. and the United Steelworkers in a hearing before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., earlier this week. What brought them together? Their belief that China is dumping OTR tires into the U.S. market.

Last month, Titan and the union filed a trade case with the government agencies that seeks to have the government impose duties "to offset unfair Chinese imports of off-highway tires."

The meeting "was a preliminary conference, a ratchet-down from a full commission hearing," an ITC spokesperson told moderntiredealer.com.

Both ITC and the Department of Commerce are investigating the anti-dumping claims. The Department of Commerce is trying to determine if dumping ever happened, while the ITC is attempting to determine "whether U.S. industry (has been) injured or threatened by (Chinese) imports.

A prelimiary determination of injury could be made as early as August.

If the ITC's investigation yields affirmative results, the Department of Commerce will continue its investigation. "If there's no indication of injury, there's no reason for the case to go forward."

"Chinese government subsidies on trade are wrong and illegal," says Titan International Inc. Chairman and CEO Morry Taylor.

"The freight alone to ship tires from China to the U.S. is greater than the direct labor used to produce the tires. This means labor is essentially free in China."