The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that certain producers and/or exporters of truck and bus tires from the People's Republic of China (China), received countervailable subsidies during the period of review (POR), February 15, 2019, through December 31, 2019.
The lower rates are effective as of Dec. 23, the date the details were published in the Federal Register.
To view the notice, click here.
This is the second in a two-part review process for the DOC. The DOC conducts regular reviews of tariffs, and this year reviewed the rates tiremakers and marketers paid in 2019. The agency published its preliminary results on June 25. On Oct. 1, it extended the deadline for the final results of this administrative review until Dec. 17.
Since Feb. 15, 2019, medium truck and bus tires from China have been subject to both anti-dumping and countervailing duties as they reach the U.S. The anti-dumping rates (set at 9% for 256 specifically named tiremakers and 22.57% for all others) remain unchanged.
The undersigned business trade groups call on Congress and the Administration to end efforts to pass the multi-trillion-dollar tax increase included in the Build Back Better (BBB) bill and focus instead on the challenges confronting American families and businesses today – rising prices, labor shortages, and ongoing supply chain constraints.
Last month’s Consumer Price Index report showing inflation rising at the fastest rate in forty years has our members understandably alarmed. Rapidly rising prices are a serious challenge to businesses of all sizes as they make purchasing inventory, supplies, and inputs such as heat and electricity more expensive. In many cases, our members are unable to pass these higher costs on to their customers. Some customers are unable to pay higher prices, while others are locked into long-term contracts that preclude price changes.
These challenges are amplified by today’s constrained labor markets. NFIB’s member surveys rank the ongoing worker shortage as the number one challenge employers face. When businesses do find suitable workers, they often need to offer them higher wages to entice them to come to work. In ordinary times, this would be good for the workers, but as we have seen in recent months, inflation eats away at these nominal pay increases and real wages are actually down this year.
The Administration argues that the Build Back Better bill will help to reduce prices, but those arguments are simply not credible. Our members believe the primary causes of the reemergence of inflation are the Federal Reserve’s continued easy money policies, massive amounts of deficit spending by Congress, and continued supply constraints, some tied to the Administration’s economic and Covid policies.
Raising taxes on America’s family businesses in this environment moves us in the wrong direction. Recent estimates show that more than $500 billion of the Build Back Better’s cost will be shouldered by family businesses and the bill would impose top rates on these businesses exceeding 50 percent. As with increased spending, voters believe these tax increases will be inflationary.
The Federal Reserve has recognized the challenge inflation poses to families and businesses and announced it will begin tapering its quantitative easing purchases in the coming months. Congress needs to make a similar adjustment, beginning by ending efforts to sharply increase federal spending while raising taxes on America’s employers.
TIA will continue to monitor these developments.
This current review applies only to the countervailing duties, which are meant to offset subsidies government entities in China are paying to producers.
Sincerely,
Tire Industry Association and other trade associations