Magazine for the professional tire industry
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MTD January 2015 News/views DOC adjusts some tariff rates Persistence by Giti Tire (Fujian) Co. Ltd. paid off as the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is amending its "preliminary determina- tion" of the countervailing duty investigation of passenger vehicle and light truck tires from the People's Republic of China (PRC.) The DOC says it is correcting "signifcant ministerial errors." Giti had maintained the DOC's calculation did not "refect its actual circumstance." The DOC defnes a ministerial error as "an error in addition, subtraction, or other arithmetic function, clerical error resulting from inaccurate copying, duplica- tion, or the like, and any other similar type of unintentional error which the secretary considers ministerial." The error was traced to the "calculation of certain sales denominators" and the beneft calculation under the government policy lending program. Such an error is "signifcant," the DOC says, if the correction results in a change of at least fve percentage points, and not less than 25 per- cent of, the subsidy rate originally calculated. For Giti, the rate dropped from 17.69% to 11.74%. Because Giti's rate was used to calculate the rate for other export- ers, the "all others" rate also required an adjustment, from 15.69% to 12.03%. The rates for Cooper Kunshan Tire Co. Ltd. (Cooper Tire & Rub- ber Co.) and Shandong Yongsheng Rubber Group Co. Ltd. (Yongsheng,) 12.5% and 81.19% respectively, did not change. All fgures are on top of the existing 4% tariffs. Additionally, the DOC says it is "also amending the scope of the investigation in response to comments submitted following the publica- tion of the preliminary determination." The period of investigation is Jan. 1, 2013, through Dec. 31, 2013. The issue had raised the ire of more than just tire makers. South Caro- lina Governor Nikki R. Haley appealed to the DOC asking that the agency reconsider its calculation of the countervailing tariff levied against Giti. Giti Tire (USA) Ltd. is to break ground on its frst tire plant in North America this year – a $560 million plant in Chester County, S.C. The plant will produce fve million passenger and light truck tires a year. In a letter to the DOC the governor wrote, "Giti Tire is an important company to South Carolina, and they have made an extraordinary commitment to our state. Likewise, we are committed to seeing them succeed." One advantage in Giti's corner is the fact it cooperated with offcials throughout its tariff investigation. The DOC sought to base its decision on information from the biggest suppliers of Chinese tires. But the big- gest exporter and producer, Yongsheng, withdrew, and it essentially was penalized for not participating in the process. Without data supplied directly by Yongsheng, the DOC says it may apply "facts otherwise available," and "may use an adverse inference" when applying those facts. In this investigation the department had no other choice but to use such facts for Yongsheng, and for another uncooperative respondent — the PRC. ■ February 18-21 Tire Industry Association Off-The- Road Tire Conference, Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, Tucson, Ariz. (301) 430-7280 or (800) 876-8372 www.tireindustry.org February 26 – March 1 Automechanika New Delhi Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India www.automechanika.com February 27-29 Mid-America Tire Dealers Association Convention Prairie Band Casino, Mayetta, Kan. (785) 286-1110 www.matda.org March 11-14 Automechanika Madrid Feria De Madrid, Madrid, Spain www.automechanika.com March 18-21 Tyre & Rubber Indonesia 2015 JIExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta, Indonesia www.tyre-indonesia.net March 19-21 Automechanika Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia www.automechanika.com March 20-21 New England Tire & Service Association Trade Show and Convention, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Conn. (207) 846-0986 www.netsa.org March 20-22 North Carolina Tire Dealers Association Expo and Trade Show The Westin Charlotte and NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte, N.C. (877) 784-0111 www.nctda.com March 24-26 Tyrexpo Asia Singapore Expo Centre, Singapore www.eci-international.com/asia dates South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley joined Giti Tire Co. Ltd. in asking the U.S. Department of Commerce to adjust its countervailing tariff. 16