The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued a preliminary determination on the subject of cheap imported tires originating in four Asian countries. The determination states that passenger and light truck tires imported from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. In the case of Vietnam, the D.O.C. has already issued a ruling that Vietnamese tire producers have received unfair subsidies associated with the country’s currency, which is described as “undervalued”.
This process of selling products, including tires, at less than fair value is known as “dumping”. Despite the name, it is entirely unconnected with disposing of tires at the end of their useful lives.
The extent to which these cheap imported tires are “dumped” varies wildly from one country to another, and among manufacturers in those countries. For example, the D.O.C. has quoted a dumping rate of 22.3 percent for Taiwan as a whole, but a zero rate for Kenda, based in Taiwan, Sailun (China), Kumho (South Korea), Bridgestone (Japan), and Yokohama (Japan).
Regarding the other countries being investigated, dumping rates are slightly below the Vietnam level in Thailand, slightly above in South Korea and overwhelmingly above in Taiwan, as shown in the below table.
| Exporter/Producer | Dumping Rate |
|---|---|
| South Korea | |
| Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd. | 38.07% |
| Nexen Tire Corporation | 14.24% |
| All others | 27.81% |
| Taiwan | |
| Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. Ltd. | 52.42% |
| Nankang Rubber Tire Corp. Ltd. | 98.44% |
| All others | 88.82% |
| Thailand | |
| LLIT Thailand Co. Ltd. | 22.21% |
| Sumitomo Rubber (Thailand) Co. Ltd. | 13.25% |
| All others | 16.66% |
The D.O.C. has instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of tires based on the preliminary rates.
The petitioner in this case is the United Steelworkers union, which filed its petition on May 13th, 2020. Final determinations are expected to be made by the D.O.C. on May 13th 2021 and by the United States International Trade Commission on June 28th 2021. If an order is issued, this will happen on July 6th 2021.
A potential end for tire dumping would likely have the most impact on those vehicle owners with older examples of vehicles, including those from GM, who want to keep costs as low as possible by purchasing cheap, imported tires for their vehicles. If importers are forced to pay extra duty on these tires, and are unable to maintain or increase the existing dumping rates, this will inevitably lead to customers being charged more.
Selling Asian tires in the United States is very big business. The D.O.C. notes that 45,282,181 tires with a total value of $1.96 trillion were sent to the U.S. from Thailand in 2019. The second highest figure from the last three years is $1.92 trillion, which was the value of the 19,327,013 tires exported from South Korea in 2018. It’s clear from this that South Korean tires are considerably more expensive than Thai ones. The mean price of a South Korean tire in 2018 was $99, while for tires sourced from Thailand in 2019 the equivalent figure was just $43.
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Comments
And some still don’t have a clue how this leads to job loss in the U.S.
Hard to believe that Goodyear and Cooper are the only American tire companies left. This makes it extremely difficult for them to compete.
Tom: I’m not sure if you can call them an American company, but they are made/produced in TN. I had purchased a set of these for the 2006 Buick Lucerne I had because I wanted white stripe tires and these were some of the few offered. Travelstar. I found them to be great tires and it said they are made in Tennessee, which I liked. The price (on Amazon) was not at all bad either. Very quiet and rode well.
Learned something new today. Great article.
I’m not going to pretend I understand the economy. The more I think about it the more my head hurts.
Tires are the most important part of your car. This is not an area where you should be looking for the cheapest option. You want quality tires that work as intended. They could save your life.
Jim. That is very true. However, I’ve owned some fairly high priced (quality??) tires in the past that were total junk. I’ve also owned some quite inexpensive tires (low quality??) and found them to be quite good. My point is that I don’t feel you can totally related quality or high price to the best.
I prefer to buy American but with a whopping $810 Social Secerity check, I’ll buy from any lowest price. Have no choice…
I buy my tires from walmart.com save a fortune people say that the tires aren’t any good but I’ve been buying these tires from Turkey lately and they seem to wear out quicker with the tread life but they hold a lot of weight and they’re great tires
I’m not absolutely sure, but I don’t think travelstar is made in the U.S.
Travel Star is made by Unicorn Tire in China.
I’m the one who brought up Travelstar above. I wasn’t aware that they were from China. Like I said, I was looking for a thin white stripe tire, so my options were very limited. Here is what I read on their website before I ordered them:
“Since its establishment in 2007, USA based Unicorn Tire Corp. has been specializing in the import, export and wholesale of quality passenger, light truck, commercial truck and ST trailer tires. ” AND: “4660 Distriplex Drive West, Memphis, TN 38118 USA”.
There’s more, but that was what I was thinking of. Oh well, just like nearly anything we buy today, it’s almost impossible to get something that is American, designed in America and built/assembled in American.
you will see a lot more imported items when biden forces unions into all american manufacturing. a lot will be heading back overseas that came back here under trump’s tax cuts.
Just replaced my bfg k02 with good year Lt wrangler authority. Better tire I think and walmart 167 a tire. Beat bfg at 233 hands down. While Asian tires may look neater. They are what they are. Cheap quality. Sticking with made in USA for my tire needs
You made a big mistake there. BFG is the best tire out there for durability. Best for price??? I have no idea. They are pricy as **** as well. Most BFG’s are still made in America, and even though Michillian is a French company, they immigrated corporate over here. I’m running Kelley edge AT’s which are Goodyear’s budget duratracs and for the price im super happy! I’ll probably buy them again from price alone. I’ve never had good luck with wranglers even though I like the look of the tire. Given Kelley’s are a Goodyear company IDK if they make them here or overseas, but I would recommend the edge line verry highly.
I have been driving Corvettes since late 1980s (I have had six and the latest is a 2020 Stingray Z-51 HTC) and the choice for new tires was always very limited. Goodyear Eagles had the total market but Michelin now has a better tire if you want to stick with run-flats. I was lucky to get 17K miles with Goodyears but got 30K on my last two sets of Michelin P2s.
Agree with previous post that tires are the most important part of the car and any scrimping on price may have a bad result.
Just replaced my bfg k02 with good year Lt wrangler authority. Better tire I think and walmart 167 a tire Beat bfg at 233 hands down. While Asian tires may look neater. They are what they are. Cheap quality. Sticking with made in USA for my tire needs
BFG KO2 is made in the USA & is a better & quieter tire than the Good Year Wranglers.
KO2 is junk. We replaced 5 sets of them with another brand all together here at work. Every customer came back with the same complaint of vibrations. We road forced, replaced bad ones, replaced entire sets, same problem.
They were switched for other brands (Goodyear, Firestone, etc.) and those customers were back only for tire rotations, zero vibration complaints.
Until Jan 20 at Noon, I will buy anything that Trump says I should not.
Like the Goodyears I recently put on my GMC 🙂
Walmart doesn’t have the cheapest tires where I live. I checked local tire stores and also Walmart for a set of tires for my CTS last year. I was specific on brand, model, and size. Walmart was second cheapest-the best price? My Chevrolet/Cadillac Dealer. Lower price on the tires and on mounting/balancing. Saved $13 per tire-$52 total.
Here you there. I’m in a smaller town and we got a local guy who can always beat anyone’s price. He also sells chicken feed 😜
Leave it to a frickin union to make my life cost more! I’m not interested in buying all American until I go broke. Most of the tires on that list are very good quality too.
I purchased a set of Hankooks a number of years back. They were ‘new technology’ all-seasons but they were also rated for snow and ice. The idea was that half the tread was softer sipped rubber and half was harder all season rubber. Looked good on paper right? One could leave the tires on year-round. Anyhow, the softer side of the tires wore out in no time. Big mistake, I got one year total use of them …
I am in the tire business. And these tires have very little if at all technology and trial run.
They are an attempt to undermine the u.s. economy. Destroy jobs and help China buy up the world. If you don’t believe it. Research it. I have for 15 years and have watched these countries dump a shell of a product that ends up costing the consumer more money.the best way to see it yourself is to write down the mileage of the tires you put on and the amount you pay for them. When you take off the tires write down mileage again. Subtract the mileage and divide the cost of the tires and that tells you how much it cost you per mile to run the tires. The Asian tires will cost you more to run because of not being made properly with raw materials or technology available. Otherwise the manufacturers are purposely misleading consumers
FWIW Mr. Tire have thier own brand of tires that’s manufactured by Cooper. I don’t do Chinese tires.
All these low-budget tire buying from the manufactures means to the consumer that the MSRP on the car/truck you buy will still be as high as if you bought them with Michelins.
My new Silverado ha Michelins
Saving money is how you get ahead. Not worrying about tire workers. You go ahead and buy the most expensive tires and eat TV dinners.
TV dinners?
Better/cheaper/smarter move is to buy meat from a local butcher, fresh (not pre-cooked and packaged) produce from the farmers’ market, and fish from a fish market.
You’ll live healthier, maybe longer, and maybe even help save an American business … which provides jobs for your neighbors, your friends, and, directly or indirectly, you.
Americans working, earning a living wage, buying American products, supporting the American economy, paying taxes, seeing a way out of abject poverty and not depending on a government dole to survive … that’s a good thing.
You are whipping a dead horse. The American model no longer functions like that. Outsourcing from foreign countries is how it works now. Poor quality and high labor costs have ruined the buy American chant you speak of. If I need a generator when they cut my power in the wind I buy a Honda. Why? Cause they make the best ones and they last for decades. Does the US even make a generator? What you speak of doesn’t happen much anymore. The government doesn’t really care either. My C7 and my Silverado will never get cheap tires, but my Geo Metro and my ranch trucks will as they fill the need in my business that has to stay in the black to survive.
“The American model no longer functions like that.”
Right.
It did, once, and it was changed, whether by well-meaning or just self-serving people, doesn’t matter. It changed.
It can be changed again.
But not by merely rolling over and saying “Oh, well, that’s too bad, but that’s the way it is.”
Next is an observation, not a criticism:
Your Silverado? Your C-7? Your Geo Metro AND your ranch trucks (plural)?
You seem to be doing OK.
Getting any government owned range to use for free? Or do you get paid for feeding the wild horses that graze on that government land … which theoretically belongs to ALL the people, but you use — and don’t pay taxes on? Any subsidies for growing — or NOT growing — crops? Business related tax deductions or write-offs? Personal exemptions?
Again, not a criticism.
Many people, however, tend to “forget” the benefits they receive, while bitching about those received by others. Not that I am at all religious, but someone called Jesus is reputed to have said something about a mote in someone’s eye. One could look it up.
In the early Industrial period, the owners had all the power. That was changed by the formation of Unions. Next, the Unions got too much power. That’s in the process of being changed. I hope the pendulum doesn’t swing too far, but there’s no question: it has to be swung.
There’s also no question that we depend on Japan and Korea for our cars and electronics, and upon China and South East Asia for almost everything. That pendulum has been swinging that way for the past 60 or 70 years. But it’s long past the time that that pendulum, too, gets a shove back in the opposite direction.
Ever heard of “The Arsenal of Democracy” ?
Don’t feel bad if you haven’t. It’s not a concept that gets much favor or attention from today’s “I feel so guilty for everything my ancestors ever did” generation.
In a nutshell, during World War II, the United States pumped out more guns, tanks, bombs, fighter planes, bombers, and ocean crossing transport ships than the Axis powers (Germany, Japan, and Italy) could blow up, shoot down, or sink.
This was possible because we had the manufacturing facilities for all kinds of products HERE.
It was an arduous task to convert those facilities from building Buicks to building engines for bombers, but it was a much better option than trying to buy fighter planes from Japan and bomb sights from Germany.
In today-talk, “or depending on China for a vaccine.”
Read Senator Ben Sasse’s book on today’s generation of ME ME ME I’M SPECIAL AND IMPORTANT Americans, and how we got that way.
It’s non-judgemental, and very intelligently argued.
(Not that I totally agree with him politically.)
No change occurs without pain, sacrifice, and suffering.
The well- or ill- intentioned changes that led to where we are today were not exempt. Neither will be the changes we need to make to move toward a self reliant, self sufficient, and therefore self confident people.
Most of you are missing the real culprit here, unions. Yes the initial premise for unions was a good one. Keyword being “was”. Now, the unions fill their pockets and play political games and mostly hurt the working American. They inflate prices on whatever company complains the loudest and may hurt their bank account. The five largest tire manufacturers based on sales are still Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Continental, and Sumitomo. These smaller companies from the countries mentioned don’t even put a dent in the big fives sales. They actually help most Americans who can’t spend $150-$200 per tire for their imported car. Every market in the US has a high end and low end. The Unions don’t tell you that and put the seed in your head that its hurting America, BS… the unions don’t get a piece of it so they scream “foul”. So now they are going to put higher duties and tariffs on the imported tires and guess what…now the American consumer will pay more. Don’t be fooled…….These foreign tire companies want to come to America and build factories, which would support the American economy and provide jobs. The powers that be, won’t let it happen until they get a piece of the action. Complain to your congressman. They want to allow anyone to come in this country for free, so why penalize a company who is ACTUALLY contributing to the economy and America, as a whole. I trust these unions as far as I can throw them……
Hey Keith, Maybe you should read the article, instead of just going off on some crazy anti union rant. These countries are dumping their products here. Maybe you expect Americans to work for $2 an hour , but most people don’t. Most Americans are for “Fair” Trade, not government sudsidized Dumping. Not to mention the fact that if your cheap ass Chinese unicorn tire blows out when you’re coming down the road towards me, you’re putting my safety at risk. I prefer that the people making my tires make a decent living.
Jim – I’m living this article real time now. I’ve been in the tire business for over 45 years, and everything I say is proven and the truth. Be a fly on the wall at some of these big corporate meetings and then tell how you feel…:)
You stated more forcefully the point I was trying to make in an earlier reply: Many Unions no longer represent the workers, but rather use the workers as cannon fodder in the wars to protect and enrich the Union executives. Union workers who sabotage the products they are being paid to build are a problem. Union leaders living in mansions and collecting millions of dollars in “compensation” while castigating company management for living in mansions and collecting millions of dollars in “compensation” are a part of the problem. Golden parachutes and bonuses for management personnel who mis-lead, bankrupt, and destroy once-great, giant corporations are part of the problem. Short sighted stockholders who demand dividends and stock splits NOW are part of the problem. And a society that values (and pays, and respects) singers, actors, and professional athletes more than teachers, soldiers, first responders,, truck drivers, medical professionals, and scientists … is a big part of the problem. We equate money with success, respect the successful, and pay lip service to
honor a, integrity, and self sacrifice.
How many people do you know who would take a bullet… or even skip a meal … for someone else?
Change has to come, and it has to start with each of us.