News Release from Titan International, Inc.
December 13, 2007 TITAN WELCOMES AFFIRMATIVE PRELIMINARY
COUNTERVAILING DUTY DETERMINATION ON OTR TIRES FROM CHINA
QUINCY, Ill.—Titan International Inc. welcomed the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision this week to impose preliminary countervailing duties on new pneumatic off-the-road (OTR) tires from China benefiting from government subsidies.
“Today’s determination sends a signal to producers in China that they have to start playing by the rules of game just like everyone else,” said Titan Chairman and CEO Maurice M. Taylor. “Tire producers in China benefit from government subsidies that give them an illegitimate advantage in our market, and it is the U.S. industry and American workers who have suffered as a result. Hopefully today’s decision will start to counteract the damage being done by China’s unfair subsidies.”
The Commerce Department preliminarily found that OTR tire producers in China benefit from subsidies including loans from government-owned banks, tax breaks, government grants, and access to low-cost rubber and land. The Department found subsidy margins for Chinese tire producers ranging from 2.38 to 6.59 percent.
“While Titan believes that these preliminary margins are lower than the full amount of subsidization benefiting OTR producers in China, we are hopeful that more accurate information on the full scope of subsidies will be collected as the investigation proceeds,” said Taylor. “We will be participating actively to see that the Department demands cooperative responses from the Government of China and Chinese tire producers regarding subsidies to the industry, and we will advocate for the fair and effective administration of the law. Only by vigorously enforcing U.S. trade laws against unfair imports can we start to level the playing field for the U.S. tire industry.”
This week’s determination in the countervailing duty investigation is separate from an ongoing antidumping investigation by the Commerce Department on OTR tires from China. The Department will make a preliminary antidumping determination regarding OTR tires from China in February of next year.
The investigations were initiated in response to a petition filed jointly by Titan and the United Steelworkers union in June of this year. Since 2004, imports of OTR tires from China have risen sharply, while domestic production and shipments of OTR tires have fallen.
Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI), a holding company, owns subsidiaries that supply wheels, tires and assemblies for off-highway equipment used in agricultural, earthmoving/construction and consumer (including all terrain vehicles) applications.
Contact: Courtney Leeser
Communications Coordinator
(217) 221-4489 |
