US agency makes preliminary determination for duties on Vietnam tire imports

Washington – The US Department of Commerce has ruled preliminarily that Vietnamese tire exporters and producers have benefited from government subsidies – including an undervalued currency – and therefore should be subject to import duties.

The Department's investigation into what the United Steelworkers union calls "unfairly traded" imports of car and light truck tires determined the Vietnamese government subsidies amounted to between 6.23% and 10.08%.

This determination is the first time the US government has made an affirmative determination in a countervailing duty case based on a foreign currency with a "unitary" exchange rate, according to the USW, which filed a complaint against Vietnam in May.

The Commerce Department is scheduled to announce its final determination in the case on or about 16 March 2021, although this deadline may be extended.

USW International President Thomas Conway applauded the determination and called for continued vigilance against unfair and illegal trade practices.

In addition to its CVD actions on Vietnamese tires, Commerce is conducting antidumping duty investigations of passenger tires from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, with preliminary determinations scheduled to be announced 29 Dec.